#Peter crouch pod

[crackedoutwalnut]

Sleep (Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader)

Summary: Y/N has been struggling with a case for three days and refuses to sleep until she gains headway. Natasha isn't having any of her crap and forces reader to sleep.

Warnings: Just fluff

Word count: 1,600

A/N: I originally posted this on my ao3 account and decided to post it here as well :)

It had been a week since the terrorist threats had been made on live television and three days since you had been assigned to finding information on the hostile organization known as Anubis. You were S.H.I.E.L.D's youngest and most skilled hacker. They had recruited you just over a year ago when your best friend, Peter Parker, suggested you to Nick Fury. You and Peter had met your freshman year of university; he was a smart young man, if a little goofy. The two of you hit it off immediately, and when he found out how skilled you were with computers, he immediately suggested you join S.H.I.E.L.D.

This seemed to have been a mistake considering you had been up for the better part of 72 hours and still haven't managed to get anything on these assholes. No matter how many times you analyzed the video, nor how many government databases and archives you cross-referenced, there was nothing about Anubis anywhere. The man in the video had been wearing an intricate black mask in the shape of a jackal, the animal symbol for Anubis, the god of death and mummification. You spent an entire evening alone researching Egyptian mythology and how the hell that could tie into a terrorist organization. However, seeing as Anubis has no digital trail or relation to any other hostile organization, your insomnia-addled brain failed to make any connections.

Groaning, you scrubbed at your face and took a sip of your now cold coffee. A total of four coffee cups, two Monsters, and a Redbull now lay empty on your desk. The caffeine did nothing for your exhaustion at this point; however, it was either that or go to sleep. You drained your coffee to the last drop.

Looking down at the bottom of your now empty Avengers mug, you sighed and stood from your desk. Shuffling out of your room, you trudged to the kitchen on the other side of your floor. You readily accepted Natasha's offer to share a floor with you in the tower back when the two of you first started dating. The prices of staying in the fancy university dormitories your school offered were outrageous, even for a S.H.I.E.L.D employee. You two often slept in Natasha's room, despite having a separate bedroom. Your eyes felt like lead at the memories of cuddling up with your girlfriend under a pile of blankets and pillows. Natasha usually did not like sleeping with more than a single blanket finding the heat stifling; however, she usually gave in easily when you pulled her down into the fluffy pile. Rubbing your eye with the side of your fist, you pushed the cozy memories aside and set your mug under the Keurig. Blindly you reached out to grab a coffee pod from a rack to the left of the coffee machine. Your drowsy limbs allowed the pod to slip from your fingers, rolling under the counter.

"Shit," you cursed, crouching down to look for the coffee. After a few moments of clumsily looking for the pod, you finally grasped it and went to stand.

"I've been looking for that shirt," a voice rasped sleepily.

You jumped and whirled around to see Natasha leaning against the kitchen counter. Her shoulder-length red hair was ruffled, and the plain black tank top she wore was askew. You looked down at the Captain America t-shirt that hung down to your bare thighs, "Didn't you steal this shirt from Steve?" you asked with a raised brow.

Natasha shrugged, "He never noticed, so it's mine fair and square."

Turning to face the coffee machine once again, you inserted the coffee pod and pushed the start button. "I'm not sure that's how it works." Natasha chuckled and strode up behind you. She wrapped her arms around your middle, kissing the side of your head. You hummed and leaned back against her, feeling the toned muscles of her stomach and biceps supporting you. She was firm but soft, like an expensive mattress. On lazy days you loved to read with your head resting against her chest. She would idly thread her fingers through your hair and listen to you softly whisper the words on the page. Sighing you, nuzzled the back of your head against the crook of her neck. Your eyes slipped shut as her fingers lightly traced your stomach.

"Where have you been? I have barely seen you these past three days."

"Busy with the Anubis case."

She spun you around lightly and inspected you, her brows furrowed slightly. "You look awful."

You snorted and nudged her, "Thanks, Babe."

She raised a brow, "When was the last time you slept?"

"I took a nap around lunch." You didn't mention that it had only been an hour long for fear of being on the receiving end of the assassin's wrath.

"Y/N..." she warned lightly. "you can't go that long without sleep. It isn't healthy."

You stepped away from her and shrugged, "I'm fine, I just need to clear a few more things up about these assholes, and then I will rest, I promise." You turned around and grabbed the steaming coffee cup. However, Natasha grabbed it from you and set it behind her on the counter. Groaning in protest, you went to reach behind her to grab it. "Nat, come on, I'm fine."

"You look terrible, Y/N," Natasha argued, grabbing your arms gently. "I know you want to prove yourself to Fury and the rest; however, you are of no use to anyone if you are too tired to do your job."

You huffed and looked down at the tiled floor beneath you. She was right, as always. Your mind was foggy and slow, making it hard to do anything productive. A couple of times, you drifted off at your desk. Not that you were going to admit any of that to her, though. "Fine, I will take a nap," you conceded, "But, you have to wake me up at 6. Got it?"

Natasha glanced at the oven clock that read 2:45 before nodding her agreement, "Alright, now let's get you to bed," She wrapped an arm around you and guided you to her room. Inside her sparsely decorated room, she had gathered three extra blankets as if knowing you were going to be joining her. You cursed her for being so persuasive. She laid down under the many blankets and gently pulled you down with her. The moment your body hit the mattress, you felt your body turn leaden. Relief crept through your bones as you leaned into the warm comfort. Natasha wrapped her arms around you and pulled your limp body against her front. You went slack as you felt her soft hands stroke up and down your sides. Your girlfriend pressed a kiss to the base of your neck and hummed contently. A cozy feeling settled in your chest as you let your eyes slip closed.

"One of these days, I'm going to convince you to let me be the big spoon," you joked drowsily.

She snorted and laid another kiss to the top of your head, "In your dreams." You rolled over and burrowed your head under Natasha's chin, her red curls tickling your cheeks. You wrapped an arm around her waist and slung a leg over her own. She chuckled and tightened her grip around you before tucking you more firmly against her. "You're too much of a koala to be a big spoon," she murmured against the top of your head. Her hand crept under your shirt and started tracing imaginary shapes against your back.

You huffed and nuzzled against the column of her neck. "We'll see," you slurred drowsily. Your eyes were now sealed shut with exhaustion and your limbs too heavy to move.

"Shhh, go to sleep," Natasha whispered, squeezing you gently.

"Remember, 6 am..." you trailed off to sleep before finishing the thought.

"We'll see," she murmured.

When you woke up, you found Natasha typing away on her laptop next to you. She wore different clothes than the ones she wore earlier that morning, sweatpants and a red hoodie. You groaned and sat up, rubbing your eyes. "I thought you were going to wake me up?" You questioned, shooting her an accusatory look.

Natasha looked up and smirked, "Oops, my bad. I guess I forgot," she shrugged innocently.

"Natasha, I was serious; I have so much work to do," you complained, moving to get out of bed. Checking the alarm clock on the bedside table, you gasped when it read 3 pm.

Before you could fully slip out from under the blankets, Natasha set her laptop aside and pulled you on top of her. You yelped in surprise as your head fell back onto her lap. "Come on, stay in bed with me. You have three hours until 6 anyways."

You scowled, "That is not the 6 o'clock I was referring to, and you know it."

Natasha grinned and shrugged, "You never specified; how was I supposed to know which one you were talking about?"

"You're an asshole," you complained.

She poked her lip out in mock sympathy and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, "Oh, I know I'm terrible, aren't I? Making sure my girlfriend is well-rested and not overdosing on caffeine, simply awful."

"I'm glad you agree," you muttered, struggling to stand up off her lap.

Natasha wrapped two strong arms around your middle and pulled you further against her, "Come on, three more hours," she moved so that her lips grazed your ear, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

You melted at her tone and sighed, "Fine, but if you don't wake me up at 6 pm, I swear I'm breaking up with you."

Your girlfriend kissed your cheek and nuzzled against you, "Sure you will."

[hufflepuffwritingstuff2]

Cryogenics and Kidnappings- Part 12

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11

Part 12

The entire ascent to the roof, Y/N tried her best to fight off her captors. Given her condition, her efforts mostly resulted in feeble arm movements and small ice crystals melting as soon as they were formed. Needless to say, her protests didn’t amount to much. When she had finally exhausted what little energy she had, she was being half-carried up several flights of stairs. When they reached the roof, Viper motioned for her guards to stop walking. They set Y/N down on the ground gently. It took all Y/N all she had to remain sitting up. Viper walked over and crouched down in front of her.

Viper pulled out another throwing dart and plunged it into the same spot as the previous one. Almost immediately, Y/N felt all the burning in her body ebb and be replaced with a feeling of coolness.

“I don’t want to have to do that to you again, little one,” she said softly. “Come along now, we have no time to waste.”

She stood up, as did her guards, who also picked up Y/N again. Despite no longer feeling any pain, Y/N still found it very difficult to resist the guards’ grip. They walked her over to a large contraption. It looked like every weather instrument ever invented was smashed into one great weather machine.

“Oh, you are not putting me in that thing!” Y/N said fiercely.

“Activate the machine,” Viper ordered.

A scientist near the machine started pushing a sequence of buttons as the two HYDRA agents carried Y/N to a pod attached to the contraption. Try as she might, Y/N was no match for the two agents as they slipped her inside the pod with ease. Almost immediately, Y/N felt as though all of her energy was being drained out of her. Y/N looked up as angry snowflakes started to fall from the sky. Y/N realized the snowflakes were coming from her own cryogenic power being harnessed by the machine. She tried to contain her powers, but the more she fought, the harder it they were to control. The snowflakes started falling harder and faster. The world was going to end, and it was all Y/N’s fault.

Everyone I love is going to freeze to death, Y/N thought, her eyes closing.

“Over here! She’s over here!” A voice cried out.

Funny, I can almost hear Peter’s voice.

“I’m a little preoccupied right now, kid!” Another voice said loudly.

That sounds like Hawkeye, maybe it’s his ghost come to haunt me for killing him.

“Kid, oh my gosh,” a third voice said, “Parker, help me get this thing open!”

Y/N heard a smashing sound and felt several shards of glass hitting her body.

“Come on, Y/N, wake up,” the third voice said.

Y/N opened her eyes to see a familiar, red-haired face.

“N-Natasha?” Y/N asked drowsily.

“Yes, it’s me, it’s Natasha,” Black Widow said, “we’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”

Natasha lifted Y/N out of the shattered pod; all at once, Y/N felt her energy coming back.

“Take my hand and don’t let go,” Natasha ordered.

The Black Widow started running, taking Y/N with her. They ran past several HYDRA agents fighting the avengers along with Y/N’s team. Natasha took Y/N to the other side of the roof, where the Quinjet was waiting.

“Stay in here while we take care of this, okay?” Natasha said.

“What?” Y/N asked incredulously.

“It’s too dangerous out here for you, and-”

“No.” Y/N said.

“Kid, it’s not up for-”

“I said no. My friends are out there trying to fix a mess that I helped make. I’m not just going to stand by and watch.”

“This isn’t your fault, kid, but you can’t-”

“Ms. Romanoff,” Y/N said firmly, “I’m done with being protected. I’m done being safe. Let me do what I was meant to do.”

Before Natasha could reply, Y/N freed herself from her grip and ran back across the roof. Her friends needed her; the world needed her.

Part 13

[ks-caster]

The Future is Infinite (Chapter 6)

Chapter-Specific Warnings: moderately graphic gore, non-graphic magical torture

Start || Previous

Navigating around rivulets of lava probably should have been a little more thrilling than it was. Wong had dropped them off on a hillside, a 5-minute walk from where Nebula’s sensors showed the fleet was parked. 

“Why can’t we just magic portal our way inside?” Peter asked when Nebula showed a map of the terrain they’d need to cross.

“The ships’ defenses are designed with portals in mind,” Nebula explained curtly. “Nothing short of the Bifrost or the Space Stone itself could penetrate.”

Nebula led them towards the huge ship, and the fleet of smaller vessels being released from it to open their fueling vents - each taking a turn docking at a more permanent-looking structure built into the side of a gently spewing volcano. Octavia felt half-naked, running around an alien planet in casual clothes and ballet flats, nothing but a barely-visible forcefield between her and enough heat to melt lead on contact. She knew that her armor wouldn’t really protect her in this scenario, but she would have felt better, having it on. The comforting weight of her sword at her back was small consolation. 

The four of them crouched behind a rocky outcropping, discussing how best to get to the detention area of the ship without being detected. Octavia kept watch, listening while her eyes tracked everything that moved around them. Some of the smaller ships were triangular, and others were massive loops. 

“Just make sure you stay out of grabbing range,” Nebula reminded Peter. “If they rip the field pod off your back, you’ll cook in your suit in minutes.”

“West side of the fleet, start causing a distraction in 5 minutes, meet back here, don’t get cooked. Got it,” Peter listed before slipping around the rocks and running, low and fast, to get to the designated distraction point. Wong wrapped a web of golden light around himself, and when the light dimmed, he was barely visible. Octavia scuffed out the map Nebula had drawn in the dirt, and all three of them ran quietly towards the Sanctuary II.

-0-

It didn’t take long at all to slip onto the massive ship; Nebula lead them unerringly to a supply room where they slipped into whatever armor they could find to camouflage themselves. Like the kings of old, she’d described while drawing the map, Thanos had designed his ship with servant passageways, so that the people bringing his breakfast and mopping up the training rooms wouldn’t need to be visible among the warriors and allies who he believed deserved to be there.

“What a prick,” Peter had muttered, sounding very, very young even through his suit. As Octavia followed the blue woman through the detention level of the ship, she finally understood why Nebula had insisted that Peter be the distraction, rather than using his stealth skills with the team and letting Octavia run around and kill people outside.

No child, no matter how powerful, belonged anywhere near here.

They took care to keep their steps measured and even, soldiers marching in a familiar direction, following familiar orders. It was difficult not to look between the bars; to glimpse the faces of the poor souls trapped here. Maybe they should have brought the whole team, Octavia thought, her heart twisting. But, she reminded herself, there wouldn’t have been near enough space suits to rescue this many people. 

When they defeated Thanos, that would have to be rescue enough.

The codes were changed out regularly, according to Nebula’s briefing, but they followed a predictable pattern. They had to, when one had so many dumb lackeys wandering around the ship, she’d added, lip curling in disgust. Her deft metal fingers typed a code in on a pad, and the door to what she’d described as the high-profile section whirred open. The three of them marched in, and Octavia had to work to control her breathing when the door clanged shut behind them. She wasn’t trapped, she reminded herself sternly - Nebula had given her the code to get out, and if that didn’t work, she could always just kill people until someone opened the door to escape. She swallowed, squared her shoulders, and followed Nebula to the little electrical room directly next to the main interrogation cell.

Octavia and Wong were silent as Nebula carefully untangled wires, plugging one and then another into ports in her forearm. The woman’s eyes were unfocused, her shoulders and jaw just a bit too set, and her breathing far too shallow for Octavia to believe she was okay. Maybe Strange had assumed she had PTSD because so many other people around him clearly did, she thought, remembering Stark barely staving off a breakdown. Wong reached up a hand and gently clasped Nebula’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into her skin.

Octavia leaned against the wall, where she could just peer out the door and into the cell. She saw Strange, clearly unconscious, on the way in, but they’d ducked away before being spotted by the two beings in the cell with him. From her vantage point, what she could see was a smaller cage, containing what she thought was the Doctor’s red cloak. It was moving, apparently on its own, trying to either break the door open or find a gap in the chain link sides large enough to squeeze through. So far, it was unsuccessful.

“Let me try,” a voice demanded, and a third person entered the cell, the door closing behind him. Out of the corner of Octavia’s eye she saw Wong stiffen, his eyes going wide. She turned to glance at him, frowning.

“Mordo,” he breathed. “Old friend…” he didn’t sound at all sure of the ‘friend’ part.

“Wizard?” Nebula whispered, as a few sharp slaps and a gasp heralded Strange being revived. Wong nodded.

“Quite a spell,” Mordo complimented, and Octavia could see the flying orange sparks and warm glow in the air that accompanied magic. The cloak’s agitation grew; it nearly knocked its cage off the table, and one of the original interrogators walked over and punched it back into place. “The trouble with a spell like this is, it’s all or nothing. Your very essence is feeding into it.”

“That was the idea,” Strange grit out. “Even if I die, removing the last vestiges of it from my corpse will take years.”

“Of course, of course,” Mordo crooned, and then Strange let out a choked cry. “But why would I break the spell when I can do this instead? The bill comes due, Strange…”

“Fire suppression system activating in 5, 4, 3,” Nebula counted quietly, and Wong waved his hands, summoning a long rod of golden light.

The buzzing screech of the alarm would have knocked Octavia off her feet if she hadn’t been braced for it. Sprinklers deployed, and Octavia surged out from the hiding place, fingers moving quickly to type in the code before anyone realized something was amiss. The two beings who had been in the cell originally ran out the door right past her, not looking past her stolen armor; they paused a moment once they’d run out a few paces, but before they had the chance to return and demand an explanation, one had met Wong’s magic rod, and Nebula had stabbed the other in the throat. 

Mordo had his hand resting near Strange’s lower belly, fingers curled inward, palm up, with some kind of swirling light resting on his skin, and Strange was mid-scream of protest when Octavia’s first strike forced Mordo to dodge, releasing whatever he’d been doing. Nebula flipped a lever and Strange dropped, boneless, from whatever force had suspended him. Octavia caught him as he fell, but Mordo was on them again with a cry of rage.

“Master Mordo,” Wong roared, intercepting him. “You have betrayed the brotherhood of the mystic arts, and your planet of origin.”

“That’s not how I see it,” the other wizard growled, and Octavia’s eyes widened. The gold necklace where Strange kept the time stone was dangling from the man’s fingers. Wong spotted it at the same time she did, and he slashed downward at that arm, but Mordo vaulted backwards, turning to run down the hallway. By now, other guards had realized the source of the disturbance and began to congregate. They opened their ranks to let Mordo through, but then closed again, baring teeth and pulling out weapons.

“Here,” Octavia said, handing over Strange’s dead weight to Nebula. “Get him out. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point in 20 minutes.”

“Octavia,” Wong started from where he was hurriedly releasing the sentient cloak from its cage, but she cut him off.

“I need you to do what you do best,” she said quietly, pulling out her sword and whirling it in an arc of sharp steel. “And let me do what I do best.”

Killing had always come more easily to her than rescue, hadn’t it?

-0-

The alien soldiers were weak. But god, there was no end to them. Nebula and Wong had gotten Strange safely back into the servants’ passages, and Octavia had defended the entrance until too many bodies had piled up around her for either her or the attackers to get much fighting done. After that, she turned and ran, the rabid horde chasing after her as she threaded her way through the maze that was the detention level. 

Nebula had suggested a couple of exit points, in case everything went to hell; one of them was a small intake hangar where captured shuttles were impounded while their crews were killed or imprisoned. She made for it, but the creatures headed her off, surrounding her and forcing her to stop and defend herself. Time was ticking by, and she knew they couldn’t wait for her forever; she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that she’d distracted 100% of the army all by herself.

Shuri’s force field seemed to be effective at blocking whatever they were blasting her with out of their guns, but the physical ends of bayonets claws were able to penetrate. However, while she would bleed for a moment when cut, the wounds closed themselves with a dark red glow. 

‘How was I making holes in the floor back in the medical center?’ she wondered, and then she was falling - only one story this time, and she landed on her feet.

“Yes!” She hissed, turning to run in the direction she judged the impound to be. The creatures followed her, snapping and roaring and clawing their way along the walls when there was no more room for them to run side by side. She slowed to turn a corner, and with an ominous whistle, a thrown dagger sliced through the air - and impaled the pod stuck to her back.

The pain of the blow and the jarring feel and smell of the ship without the forcefield around her slowed her down for a moment - long enough for a blast of blue light to hit the back of her calf, the pain searing up her leg and causing her to trip.

But instead of hitting the cold metal floor, she fell into the arms of a woman clad in bloodstained white armor.

-0-

“Is he okay? Why isn’t he waking up?” Peter was demanding, the eyes of his suit tiny red points as the Instant Kill function kept off their pursuers.

“Whatever spell Mordo hit him with, it did a number on his magic,” Wong responded, angling the round shield he’d conjured and spinning it to slice two of the attackers in half. “I’m going to take us the roundabout way to the meeting place,” he announced, opening the first of a series of portals placed strategically to split the horde up chasing them.

“What about Octavia?” Peter exclaimed, jumping through the first only to swing out and bash an alien soldier right in the chest, landing him on top of two of his comrades.

-0-

“I can run on my own,” Octavia gasped after the woman had helped her limp a few steps. She’d been holding a large gun, and laid down enough cover fire that they had a few seconds to breathe - and gave the Reality Stone enough time to put Octavia’s leg back together. “I heal quick,” she explained as she took her own weight back and they ran side by side towards the hanger. She vaguely recognized the woman - she’d been in one of the cells when they’d first entered. She must’ve used all the chaos of the breakout to escape herself.

“Do you have transport off-planet?” the woman asked, pausing a moment to shoot behind them.

“A wizard is making a portal in about ten minutes,” Octavia responded, pulling the small handheld alien gun out of the holster in her stolen armor and trying to fire back. It clicked uselessly.

“Safety, on the back,” the woman instructed. “Press twice, wait for the light to go on.”

This time the weapon sent out a jet of blue light and a creature fell to its death. 

“All of the captured ships have homing technology installed in them,” she continued as they arrived at the hanger and Octavia disabled the guard with a powerful roundhouse kick. “So I hope your wizard can do his bit.” She pressed a few buttons and the outer door opened - bringing with it a wave of heat that had Octavia falling to her knees with a cry.

Right. No force field.

She hyperventilated, inflating her lungs and hoping that whatever this woman was, she could survive the climate long enough to catch up with Wong and the others. Apparently it was time to test the“functional immortality” bit of sharing her body with an infinity stone.

-0-

“She should be back by now,” Nebula growled, pacing back and forth behind the rocky outcropping where they’d met to discuss their initial plan. According to her internal chronometer, it had been 23 minutes since Octavia had said 20, and while she understood that people without a computer for a brain rarely meant time as specifically as she did, that made it hard to judge how long to wait for her.

“We can wait a few more minutes,” Wong said in a deliberately calm tone. He’d led their pursuers on a wild, backtracking chase before hiding them away behind the rocks, using his magic to make them unnoticeable. “Until they find us, we’re safe here.”

“Where’s the sticky boy?” Nebula asked suddenly, frowning at their surroundings.

-0-

If this was what Primefiya had felt like, Octavia resolved to treat Clarke with a little more respect from now on. Her skin was burning off and healing simultaneously, and she could tell that whatever the other woman was, she wasn’t having such a good time of it either. Barely able to see straight, Octavia stumbled forward, trying to keep the part of the ship they’d originally approached behind her and hoping that the pursuing soldiers had assumed they’d stayed onboard. She didn’t know how long she could fight in this state if she had to.

She caught sight of the specific group of rocks they were aiming for just as she heard the screech of one of the creatures. Two small groups of them approaching from different directions. How had they even gotten out here so fast?

The woman shot down one group, but then the gun sputtered and died, out of power. Octavia pulled out her own gun, but she could barely aim it. She couldn’t breathe, could barely stand to keep her eyes open… 

“Hey ass-holes!” a familiar voice shouted, and the creatures turned just in time to see Peter swinging from one of his webs which he’d attached to the outer wing of the ship. They didn’t even have time to dodge the spider-leg-like extensions from his suit.

“Nice job, kid,” she rasped before collapsing. The woman in white caught her, and between her and Peter, they supported her back to the portal.

To Be Continued...

[under-the-blue-sun]

THE 882 FILES. - chapter two

story summary:  When their space pod unexpectedly loses power, Dan and Phil - two crew members from the International Space Station - suddenly find themselves revolving far above the strange atmosphere of an alien planet, and must now find a way to survive as they wait for help to arrive.

story word count: 4057

rating: teen & up audiences

warnings: profanity

song of the chapter: cherry bomb - the runaways

notes: yes yes i'm late i’m using the same excuse as last time i'm sorry !! look but i am gay and i can't count days so if you're mad.. homophobia.

link to ao3 (would highly recommend reading on ao3 due to formatting changes on tumblr!)

“Captain?”

 Captain P.J. Liguori huffed and trudged to the door. 

 “What do you want?” he demanded, swinging the door open aggressively.

 The person at the door clicked their tongue. “I believe it was you who sent me for your coffee, Peter Jones.”

 PJ rolled his eyes. “For the last time, stop guessing my name.”

 Chris smirked and walked in the office, tray in hand. He set down the cup of coffee with his milk and bags of sugar, trying to catch PJ’s eye. In all his years of working with PJ, he had never seen him this glum. Ordinarily, PJ would try to be positive about everything that approached him. Today, PJ was positive about nothing. He ignored Chris’ smiles and continued scrolling through his phone. Chris took a peek at his screen.

 “I thought you were quitting Twitter,” Chris said, pouring the sugar into the coffee.

 PJ sighed. “Can’t exactly be keeping off social media at a situation like this, can I?”

 “Here’s your coffee, Captain.” Chris said, pushing the cup forward. “How are you doing?”

 PJ glanced at the coffee. “Not well,” he said, stirring the coffee. “Also, can I have a long black instead?”

 “No. We haven’t got the time for worrying about coffees today. You have a lot to do today.” Chris said, secretly pleased that he had an excuse to not remake PJ’s coffee. 

 PJ nodded gloomily. “Alright. Read them off for me, then.”

 Chris pulled out his clipboard and cleared his throat. “Well, you have to announce the official numbers of the incident in 1 hour, followed by time with the press, questions from the audience, etcetera. Then, you have a meeting with the CEOs of all the companies on the ISS which I estimate would be around two hours. After that, we managed to book you an interview with the BBC tonight, so please wrap up so we don’t be late for that.”

 “Jesus Christ.”

 “Quite a lot to do.”

 “I can see that.” PJ said. “So I’m announcing the official numbers in an hour?”

 “Correct.” Chris replied.

 PJ hesitated. “So what are the official numbers?”

 “Overall, it’s 132 dead, 15 injured and 2 missing. For BPS, it’s 10 dead, 3 injured and 2 missing.”

 “Oh God, those are terrible numbers.” PJ said.

 “Here’s the list of names.” Chris said.

 PJ skimmed the list. “Macsen Crane, Victoria Guy, Loretta Hess, Daniel Howell, Kason Kumar, Ca-”

 PJ paused. “Captain Philip Lester.”

 “Peej? Are you okay?” Chris asked.

 “I’m fine. Kendall, is this the list of the dead?” PJ asked.

 “The dead and missing, Captain. Are you sure you’re fine?” Chris frowned, watching as PJ quickly wiped his cheek.

 “I’m sure.” PJ assured. “Who’s dead and who’s missing?”

 “I don’t know. I was just given this list of names.” Chris replied.

 “Kendall, go and ask for the specifics.”

 Chris nodded. “Yes, Captain.” he said, and scurried out of the office

 PJ closed his eyes. Please, God, do not let Phil Lester be dead.

SC LOCATION: SPACE SHUTTLE 882 - CONTROL ROOM

 Phil: We’re dead. Oh god, we’re dead.

 [Dan taps Phil on the shoulder, who finally opens his eyes and looks at Dan who’s smiling at him]

 Dan: Captain. We’re alive. We did it. We made it.

 Phil: Oh my god.

 [Phil pulls Dan in a tight embrace. He lets Dan go awkwardly]

 Phil: Sorry. It’s just-

 [Dan nods]

 Dan: It’s fine. 

 [Dan smiles slowly]

 Dan: We made it. We actually made it.

 Phil: And with 30 seconds to spare. We should have taken our time.

 [Dan and Phil both laugh, tears of happiness streaming down their cheeks]

LOCATION: ??

DATE: 25/06/2053

TIME: ??

DAYS IN SPACE: 1

 USER: Mr Daniel Howell

 My name is Dan Howell, pilot of the 882, assistant to Captain Philip Lester and flying to fuck-knows-where. I’m here because I barely survived the International Space Station’s first emergency situation after 53 years of safe work in space.

 It felt good surviving, at first. We had just made it, fire right at our tail. But when we looked back, half the ISS still burning, we felt sick. If we had barely managed to make it, we couldn’t imagine how many people didn’t.

 Fire in open space is weird as hell. On Earth and on the ISS, fire causes the surrounding atmosphere to thin and expand and flames rise with the pull of gravity at the base of the flame. The oxygen makes sure it burns until it runs out of fuel.

 In open space, the hot air from the flame still thins and expands, but as it’s without gravity, the shape of fire is more like a dome. Instead of flickering, the fire orb sort of just hovers there. The oxygen molecules drift into the fire, meaning the flame still manages to persist, but it’s slower and more sluggish because there’s not that much oxygen to deal with.

 It’s weird. Also kind of cool. Everyone loves the idea of fire in space, including me. My first experiment on the ISS was playing with fire in microgravity. Looking back, it was actually pretty dangerous. Jayden Hebert almost caught on fire, which was hilarious but also terrifying. Adrenaline was boiling in my stomach and we were all shaking with excitement.

 Now, my stomach hurts and I am shaking but for all the wrong reasons. The captain nor I have any idea about how many people did or didn’t make it out. There's a possibility that someone we know could be in there, slowly dying, and that scares the both of us. 

 If I seem upset, the captain is even more distressed. I didn’t have any friends on the ISS. I didn’t talk, or know anyone that well. But the captain is an all-round good kind of guy who was friends with everyone on the station. He hasn’t said it to me, but he feels guilty for surviving. 

 He shouldn’t feel guilty for long, though. We’ve realised that we’re going to die on the ship, and there’s not really much we can do about that.

 You see, these shuttles were created and packed by NASA, purely for emergency purposes. Outside of that, not really any use of them. The only thing mechanics have to do with them is make sure that they’re functional, and since there hasn’t been any emergencies on the ISS in the 54 years of running, they’ve kind of been slack for doing that as well.

 Shuttle 882 broke after Allen Stephenson got drunk and spilt his beer inside two years ago, and the mechanics got really mad at him and told him to fix his own problem. Of course, Allen’s an idiot and doesn’t know shit about repairing a fucking shuttle, and even if he did, he didn’t have the proper tools to repair anything, so there wasn’t much he could do. The mechanics knew that. Like I said, there hasn’t been an emergency in the ISS until yesterday. Fixing a random shuttle in Locker 5 was really none of anyone’s concern.

 However, this does pose as a problem for me and the captain now. Allen the Fuckface managed to spill his beer in a lot of places, but most importantly, the teleporter and communications area. Normally, protocol for an emergency is to use the shuttle to immediately teleport the ship to Earth. They made this super easy for us, making a button which only allowed you to teleport to our home planet. However, obviously, Allen managed to mess that up which means that we are 100% screwed. 

 In cases like this, normally, you would communicate with mission control, and they would send an unmanned ship to collect you from the coordinates you send over. However, Allen spilt his beer all over the coordinate tracker and, more importantly, the SOS messenger, meaning that we have no way to communicate with Earth or know where we are. 

 Yeah. Fuck Allen.

 SC LOCATION: SPACE SHUTTLE 882 - MAIN ROOM

 [Dan walks into the main room]

 Dan: Good news and bad news, Captain.

 [Phil looks up from the communications panel he is trying to fix]

 Phil: Let’s hear the good news first.

 Dan: Well, the good news is that NASA always prepares for an emergency by packing way too much food. I counted, and we have exactly 100 freeze-dried meals.

 Phil: That sounds good, but even if we both only have half a meal a day, that’s only going to last us for just over three months.

 Dan: That’s the bad news.

 [Phil chuckles sorrowfully]

 Phil: So, we’re fucked.

 Dan: Pretty much.

 [Phil sighs]

 Phil: Any good news, Howell?

 Dan: This shuttle is an older design from ‘32, so there’s a bedroom with a double bed.

 Phil: That’s good, but I feel like there’s a catch.

 Dan: That is the only bedroom, so, we either have to draw straws or we have to take turns sleeping on the bed.

 Phil: Right.

 [Silence hangs in the room]

 Dan: Well, you’re my superior officer, so you can take the bed. I can sleep on the couch. 

 [Phil stands up]

 Phil: Well, you said it was a double bed.

 [Dan nods slowly]

 Dan: Yes I did, Captain.

 Phil: Well, that’s it, then. We’re grown men. We can share the bed. 

 Dan: Right. Of course. No problem sharing a bed with my captain.

 Phil: Absolutely. And vice versa. No problem sharing a bed with my...uh...pilot.

 Dan: Definitely.

 [Silence awkwardly hangs in the room yet again]

 Phil: Any other problems we need to deal with either than...you know…SOS messenger and all?

 Dan: Yeah. Uh, no. No more problems. Not that sharing a bed is a problem.

 Phil: No, of course not. Uh…

 Dan: Yeah, I’ll just leave you to try and fix the messenger and teleporter while I plan out our meals.

 Phil: Yeah. Cool.

 [Phil crouches back down to stare intensely at the communications battle]

 [Dan leaves the main room]

LOCATION: ??

DATE: 25/06/2053

TIME: ??

DAYS IN SPACE: 1

 USER: Mr Daniel Howell

 So apparently, I am now sharing a bed with the captain.

SC LOCATION: SPACE SHUTTLE 882 - EATING ROOM

 Phil: So, is this half of the meal?

 Dan: Yep.

 [Dan and Phil prod their food]

 [Dan begins eating the food]

 Phil: Oh, fuck this.

 [Phil gets up and gets the full meal]

 Dan: Captain-

 Phil: I don’t care, alright? I would rather live for 100 days with a full meal rather than this half-ass shit. 

 [Phil sighs]

 Phil: I’m sorry for that. It’s just such a stupid situation.

 Dan: You’re right, it is. We barely survive from a fire and plunge ourselves into what? Starving and thirsting to death. It’s like the universe wants us dead.

 Phil: No. Don’t say that. The universe does not want us dead.

 [Phil grabs Dan’s hand]

 Phil: We are going to get out here. As your captain, I promise you that I will get us out of here. We will survive these hard days, and we will return to Earth. Understood?

 [Dan doesn’t reply]

 Dan: Not I, Captain. We.

 Phil: Sorry?

 Dan: You may be my superior, but it isn’t just your responsibility to get us out of here. This is on both of us, Captain. We can’t get out of here unless we work together. 

 [Phil smiles]

 Phil: Of course. Not I. We.

SC LOCATION: SPACE SHUTTLE 882 - LEISURE ROOM

 Phil: So? Any good movies?

 Dan: Not really. There’s the X-Men movies.

 Phil: Hugh Jackman or Jayden Benton?

 Dan: Jackman, of course. Why would they bring those Benton ripoffs on here?

 Phil: True. Anything else?

 Dan: The old Harry Potter movies. Some random rom-coms. War movies. Animated films. Space movies, unsurprisingly. I haven’t heard of most of them, and there’s a lot.

 Phil: Well, we have plenty of time. What should we watch tonight?

Aladdin (1992): 1 hour 31 minutes

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 Aladdin (1992) downloaded

[bxcksdoll]

Traitor | Part Two

Pairings: Thor x reader

Summary: Thor continues to resent Y/N, not believing anything she says.

Request (continued): Yo omg could we get a sequel to your “Traitor” fic? Maybe the reader realizing their attempts at convincing Thor and the others are futile, and they end up sacrificing themselves for Thor or one of the Guardians? Kind of an “actions speak louder than words” sort of thing. Whether the reader lives or not is up to you :)

Warnings: EXTREMELY angsty, angry! Thor, violence, swearing

A/N: wow I’m so happy that I got loads of requests to do a part 2 of ‘Traitor’ so I hope this is okay, sorry it’s so angsty

Four days had passed but, to you, it felt like weeks. You were held in a dark, lonesome room in the ship. The only interaction with anyone you had was Mantis, as she provided you with food.

Thor refused to see you. But you had accepted that, knowing he’d never, willingly, see or talk to you again. It was clear that he would never trust you ever again - as he ordered that the handcuffs were to be kept on you at all times. He wouldn’t even let you take them off to eat; you felt like an animal prisoned on the ship.

The passageway to your room opened, revealing Mantis with a plate of food. You were given scraps, barely anything. You assumed it was Thor’s way or punishing you more.

Mantis entered the room, placing the plate onto the floor next to you. You thanked her, smiling sadly. As she began to walk away, you called after her. She turned around, questionably, fidgeting with her hands.

“I hear you can feel people’s emotions,” you spoke, softly. She nodded in response and you went on, “would you feel mine? Maybe that way you will believe me. Believe that this isn’t some act I’m putting on. Please.”

She hesitated slightly, opening her mouth and then closing it. Then, she looked behind her to check if any of the others were watching. To your luck, they weren’t.

Mantis made her way over to you, slowly and with caution. You couldn’t help a small smile to form on your lips and thankful tears to creep into the corners of your eyes.

Just as she crouched down, getting closer to you, a loud voice was heard: “STOP! Mantis, get away from her, now!”

Mantis shot up from her crouched position. You looked past her to see Peter, your sister’s boyfriend.

“What’s going on?” a louder, booming voice came from around he corner - the voice you knew to be Thor’s. At this moment in time you feared to see him, terrified of what he might do or say to you.

“N-nothing is going on,” Mantis stuttered, shaking her head.

Seconds later, Thor strided into view. He breathed heavily, staring at you with complete abhorance.

“What did she do,” he seethed, through gritted teeth.

“She was trying to get Mantis close to her; probably to catch her off-guard and then attempt to escape,” Peter narrowed his eyes.

Mantis looked back at you and gasped, quickly leaving the room. Peter’s words left a pit in your stomach, you couldn’t believe they thought even less of you now.

“What?” you squeaked out, a helpless look on your face.

“Don’t try to defend yourself this time, daughter of Thanos!” Thor boomed, causing you to flinch in response. “Just for that,” he continued, “I guess you won’t be having this...” he strode across the room and picked up your plate of food, leaving with it.

From the time Thor was out of the room, you debated on pleading with Peter but you knew it was useless and, instead, stayed quiet. You kept your eyes trained on the floor as Thor entered again.

“I’ll deal with her, you can go,” Thor mumbled, to Peter. Your stomach sank even further as your hands began to tremble, from behind your back.

Once Peter left, Thor closed the door behind him. You were trapped inside with the man you loved - but now feared.

“T-thor...” your voice cracked as you looked up at him.

Instantly, he paced over to you, a loathsome expression on his features. He picked you up by the collar and pushed you against a wall, once again. The familiar feeling of your hands being crushed came back as you winced.

“Shut up! You do not get to address me, you lost that privilege when you betrayed the universe,” his face was close to yours, warning eyes glaring into your begging ones.

“I-I-” he wouldn’t let you talk, pushing you further against the wall.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull of here, demoness, but you better stop!”

Demoness? you thought as tears welled up in your eyes, bluring your vision slightly.

“Do you think you can escape? Take advantage of these crew members? Well, you’re wrong. You answer to me now,” he yelled, grabbing you neck. “And I will make you pay, believe me.”

Thor squeezed your neck, slightly, but not very painfully. You closed your eyes, once again letting your tears run down your cheeks; Thor thought your pain and sadness was just an act and began to squeeze your neck harder.

“Do you seriously think I am falling for your trick? Do you think I’ll give into this show?” he chuckled, darkly.

You opened your mouth to say something but, hesitatingly, closed it again. Thor released his grip on your neck slightly.

“Go on,” he whispered. “What were you going to say?”

You opened your mouth again, gazing into his punishing eyes. “I’ve given up on you believing me now, Thor. Do whatever you want with me. No one will care anyway,” you responded, in the strongest voice you could muster.

“Oh, I will. I’ll make sure that you rot in a cell for the rest of your days,” he banged your head against the wall as he let go of you, walking away and leaving you trapped, once again. You fell to the ground, crumpling into an emotional mess.

——————————————————————————

“Get ready for landing, Guardians,” came Peter’s voice through the walls of the ship. “Landing in 3...2-”

You crashed into the left wall, rolling backwards and then flying to your left. Thor didn’t allow you to have a seat and so landing was always painful for you.

“What about the girl?” you hear the voice of the raccoon from outside the door.

“Leave her, she cant get out,” came Gamora.

Well shit, you thought, I might have a chance to sneak out.

Once you were sure everyone was off the ship, you stood up, searching around the room for any tools to help you escape.

You looked on shelves and attempted to open cupboards with your tied up hands. Finally you found some sort of laser tool.

Sighing with relief, you grabbed it in one hand and twisted it skilfully to beam through the electric handcuffs you had on. To your surprise, the tool worked. You were free.

Gasping with joy, you took - what was left of - the cuffs off your wrists and rubbed the red marks imprinted on them. You were surprised they hadn’t cut off the blood circulation to your hands, due to how tight they were secured on.

Hoping the laser tool might help with opening the door, you walked over to it, breathing shakily. You began to beam holes into the door to test it out. They left black-stained marks, which seemed useful enough.

You held the laser over the door, marking it bit by bit. Eventually, you were able to cut out a person-sized hole in it and climbed through, successfully.

Standing there, in the middle of the ship, you didn’t know where to go. Should you use an escape pod? Should you explore the planet you were on?

Then, shouting was heard from outside. You walked out of the ship, still being cautious so that no one would see you. Looking around the ship, you saw them. The Guardians. And Thanos’ minions.

“Shit,” you mumbled, knowing all too well where you had to go.

Running back to the ship, you grabbed the nearest sword you could find. Before you could think things over, further, your legs started running towards the fight. Now was your chance to prove yourself; you’d sneak up behind Thanos’ minions, kill them from behind.

With all your energy - which wasn’t as much as usual since you had barely been fed - you leapt up, crashing down on one of the creatures and sending your sword through their head.

The fight stopped for a split second, Thanos’ minions in shock from the surprise attack and the Guardians in shock from the realisation that you were telling the truth. You started the fight up again, sending your sword flying towards another creature; they blocked it with ease.

Your energy wasn’t what it usually was, which made fighting harder and more painful than you were expecting. The Guardians fought alongside you, not stopping for breath.

Four of the minions were left; all injured. The fight had continued for some time and you felt as though you would collapse at any moment.

Glancing towards Gamora, you noticed her focus was on the creature in front of her - duelling with it. However, she took no notice of the one sneaking up behind her - spear raised.

You charged towards her, despite the pain rushing through your entire body.

“Gamora!” you screamed, as she glanced sideways to face you.

The creature raised it’s spear higher, sending it towards your sister. You pushed her out of the way, the spear impaling your chest. A spluttering sound escaped your lips, falling to your knees.

Thanos’ minions took this as an opportunity to escape; everyone’s eyes fixed on you.

“Y-Y/N? What have you-why-why did you...” Gamora was lost for words, rushing to your side. She held your face in her hand, tears gushing down her face.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry that I didn’t believe you,” she cried.

“It’s-it’s okay, Gamora. I forgive you...” you smiled, a tear falling down your cheek.

You began to feel dizzy, swaying from side to side.

“Y/N!” came Thor’s desperate voice, from beside you.

You turned and met his sorrowful, once loathsome, eyes. He collapsed to his knees, beside you, tears dripping down his face.

“How could I have been so stupid? My love, I’m so sorry. Words can’t express how sorry I feel...I love you so much. Oh god, what have I done?” he cried, clutching your face in his hands.

“Thor, it’s alright. I understand and I f-forgive you,” you gasped out, your breath shallowing. “Please, forgive yourself too. I love you so much. Please do-” you stopped mid-sentence, unable to talk anymore.

Your eyelids grew heavy, body became limp. You fell to the ground. Unable to move. Unable to breath. Unable to feel. All life escaping from you.

Tag list: @xmarveled @imposingarcher28 @ddaeing @phanoffandoms67 @waiting-for-motivation @whovianayesha

[babyspiderling]

Hearts Far From Home Part 2

Big ole time skip because I don’t want to retell the entirety of Infinity War and just add Reader into specific scenes. 

Part 1

Part 3

We all hide on the deserted planet. Dr. Strange being the only one visible. As the “Mad Titan” appears through a portal of some kind, I can’t help but whisper “He looks like a grape ass bitch to me.” to Peter who crouches down next to me. As we wait, I explore the pockets of my suit, finding seeds and pods from different plants. I use these to grow my garden, seeing no plant life here on this planet, only dust and metal surrounding us. They grow silently and quickly, placing roots deep in the ground. We hear “I think you’ll find our will equal to yours.” from Strange, that’s our que. Mr. Stark pushes a large structure on top of the thing,Thanos destroying it and throws it back at Tony. As Peter webs the grapes face, I sprint in, using the plant life around me to grow large. I throw my arms out and my garden charges forward. It wraps around his hand, growing thick and strong, keeping him from closing his fist. Peter flies through portals yelling “Magic!” “Magic with a kick-” Thanos grabs My Peter and slams him to the ground. “Insect” I throw more and more trees and plant life at him. “He’s an ARACHNID!” He throws Peter and goes after me. I throw up a wall of full grown trees, their roots deep and strong. He bulldozes through them, continuing his chase. I use my vines to stop pull me up and out of reach as Iron Man starts his fire attack on the Titan. 

We all secure Thanos to the ground, as Mantis uses her power to subdue him. My vines secure his free hand to the ground as Stark does his best to pry off the gauntlet. As it finally comes loose bit by bit, Peter Q interrogates the Titan we all struggle to hold. He hits Thanos with his gun, making Mantis lose her hold on the purple thing. As Thanos comes too, he kicks us all away. I scream as he brings down the moon onto Tony, still flying through the air. Peter webs Mantis to a structure, and then grabs me. “I’ve got ya.” From our perch, we all see the battle happening between Thanos and Tony. I curl into Peter, unable to watch, yet unable to tear my eyes away from the scene. 

Thanos stabs Mr. Stark with his own blade, I can’t help but release a blood curdling scream of “No!” I struggle against Peter, trying to get to him. “Peter, I can heal him, I can fix this! You’ve got to let me heal him! I have to help him!” He just grasps me tighter burying himself into my neck. I barely hear Strange make a deal with the devil. To spare Tony’s life in return for the time stone. “Peter, please, let me tell Strange about my powers, please, we can win this. I can’t let him get the stone, I can’t let Strange give away the stone.” “Y/N,” his voice cracks, “Y/N, we can’t get to Tony if Thanos is here. And you can’t heal him if he’s dead. Please Y/N, Strange has seen all of the scenarios and knows what has to happen in order to win.” Relenting, I slack against Peters suit. I sob into Peter, knowing this is what must be done. He is gone and for a few minutes we stand and look in shock. We, we lost, I can’t believe it’s over. I rush to Tony, my hair already beginning to glow and float as I ready my healing power. I rest my hands on his stomach and hum. It doesn’t activate my powers, but it helps me control them. As I feel my hair slowly drop back down to my shoulders, I know that it’s all done. “Anybody else hurt?” Mantis simply says, “Something’s happening.” We watch as she turns to dust in the wind. One by one our group starts to disappear. I look down at my hair, and notice it has started on me. “Peter! Peter, I’m going!” As my legs go out from under me, Peter catches me. “No, no no, Y/N. Not yet, I can’t lose you, I can’t lose my best friend.” Reaching up to touch his face, I smile up at him. “Peter, it’s ok. Don’t be sad, we’ll meet again. I love you.” Soon everything goes black. 

2023 

I opened my eyes, and I’m back on Titan. But I thought I died, or became dust? I look up at the sound of Peters voice and am tackled into a bone crushing hug from the spider-boy. “Peter! What happened? I thought I died?” He holds me tight for a minute, like he can’t believe I’m real. “Oh my god Y/N, I thought you were gone and then I feel something go wrong in me, and, and I was gone too. I can’t find Mr. Stark, or that blue lady. If they were gone too wouldn’t they be here?” At this Mr. Strange walks up to all of us. “Guys, it’s been five years since the battle here on Titan. But for us, it’s been only seconds.” We all line up behind Mr. Strange as he opens up a portal to the battlefield. I’m not sure if it’s Earth or not since it’s dark, and full of destruction. 

I use my vines to swing out of the portal and look at Peter, my “Iron Ivy” mask tucked into my suit, preferring my domino mask to the over the head mask. I fight the monsters around me, crushing them with vines and trees until I hear Peter saying that he couldn’t handle what was going on. I raced over to help him, but am beat there by a glowing woman with close cropped hair. “Hey Peter Parker, got something for me?” He hands over the gauntlet and we continue the fight, having each others backs and working in tandem. Soon everyone has their attention on Thanos and Mr. Stark. I see tony snap his fingers and Thanos disintegrates. But Tony is hurt too badly from the stones and the snap itself. I run to my mentor, “Mr. Stark, Tony. I can heal you, let me heal you. Don’t leave us, please. Peter, he needs you.” With a smile he shakes his head. “It’s time for me to go. I did what I had to and everything will be fine.” With that, I shakily let Ms. Potts and Peter say their peace. 

I am numb at the funeral. I am barely alive enough to grow a bundle of black and red roses, yellow carnations and a single sunflower to lay at Mr. Starks grave. I leave the funeral eventually though I can’t quite remember how I got home. I slid my domino mask on again. “Hey R.O.S.E, can you play all Tonys audio files?” I get nothing in response, I slide on the Iron Ivy mask and try again. This time I get broken audio. I keep trying, the audio is getting more and more distorted each time I request. I whip off the mask so I can cry without suffocating. I don’t know how long I stay like that, Peter eventually coming over to check on me, and holding me until it’s over. “Pete, I just, I just don’t understand. I could have healed him, I could have let him live. Why didn’t he let me let him LIVE?” Sniffling himself, Peter shakes his head, not sure why either. We hold each other, growing like the vines in my room, tangled together. 

[thatgirlunderarock]

Nothing More- An Avengers Infinity War fanfic

Sequel to Of Dust and Stars and Prequel to He feels everything Nebula has a decision to make after her father's plans become a reality, and must deal with the loss of the only thing she ever wanted. A sister

Read on AO3

Warnings: None, except maybe Infinity War spoilers if you haven’t seen it-

Special thanks to @dauphinedolphin for beta reading for me! As always thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy. I’ve got two more to write before Avengers: Endgame comes out so we’ll see how that goes!

NEBULA

At one point or another Nebula did want to eliminate the group who called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy.

At one point or another she had definitely wanted to kill Gamora.

Now that it's happened, she can’t imagine why she had ever wanted to accomplish any of that.

She could still see the dust blowing through the breeze and mixing with the red Titan dirt. This wasn’t what Nebula wanted. She wanted her father dead. She wanted the means and power to erase Thanos off the face of universe, to free herself of his vice.

           “You wanted to win, but I only wanted a sister!”

Just when Nebula thought she was finally on her way to getting everything she wanted, the purple bastard tore her sister away from her, along with the only people she thought would stand a chance against him.  Taking and controlling the Power Stone back on Zandar offered little to no preparation, and defeating Ego was nothing more than dealing with a minor annoyance compared to the fight they faced against her father. All of it was in vain.

Nebula’s dark eyes studied the Terran man crouched on the ground, trying to steady his breath. She supposed at one point in time she too would have doubled over from the raw emotion manifesting itself like a clamp on her lungs. Instead, she found herself staring at the pile of ash that used to be Peter Quill, swirling and mixing with the remnants of Titan, trying to understand what she had witnessed. The only person who had any kind of idea of what she was feeling, was nothing more than dirt under her boots.

Nebula really did think Mantis had had a handle on Thanos. She would have thought subduing a planet would have been more difficult, but then again both Nebula and Gamora had thought that there was no chance in the galaxy that their father would ever get the soul stone. Map or no map, Gamora had assured her that Thanos was not capable of obtaining the stone for his crusade.

Nebula thought her mind had been the one part of herself that was still her. The one part of herself that hadn’t been completely ripped out and replaced. Of course she knew Thanos’ conditioning had affected her thoughts and how she viewed her life, but still she had grown to resent him. That resentment, that hatred for him, belonged to her. Those were her thoughts and feelings. Her mind was the only thing she had left of the child he abducted all those years ago.

She wished she could scream, the day Thanos pulled her memories.

They were supposed to be hers, and only hers.

“All I wanted was a sister!”

She clearly remembered yelling that at Gamora, and in the moment that followed she did have a sister. Not an enemy, not a rival, a sister. She thought it would be okay for Gamora to talk to her, to confide in her. And yet when the time came to kill Thanos herself, he knew exactly what to do to pry the information from her skull. It was everything she had ever feared thrown into one moment,  and Nebula hated Gamora for choosing her over saving herself and the stone. Not that Thanos would have believed it, but at least Nebula would not have lived any longer knowing that she ultimately lead to her sister’s demise.

When the time came to defeat the bastard who took everything from her, Nebula did what she had to, and nothing more.

She could have done more.

She didn’t try to hold him down, didn’t try to pull the gauntlet off. If she were honest with herself, she was doing the same thing as Quill. Waiting. Waiting to hear that Thanos destroyed her sister, needing to hear it come from his own mouth. Knowing he suffered brought her some kind of sick satisfaction she couldn’t explain. Nebula wanted to watch Thanos crumble under the weight of what he had done to his favorite daughter, a remorse he never showed her when he rebuilt her. She was impatient. She had wanted Quill to make Thanos suffer for what he had done. She never thought to hold him back.

           Nebula turned away from the ash piles and turned to the man still sitting in stunned silence as he stared at the ash on his arms.

              “Come on,” she said sternly as she pulled him to his feet. “We need to get off this planet. Let's hope the Milano wasn’t crushed by Daddy Dearest’s temper tantrum.” Half the universe gone or not, Nebula was going to kill Thanos, even if it was the last thing she ever did.            

              The man pushed her hand off and turned to her abruptly. Red rimmed eyes, whether from lack of oxygen due to Titan, or the man’s own inability to compose himself she didn’t know. “We? I think you mean you. If you had just held Quill back for a second, for just a second, he and the others wouldn’t be gone!”

              She stared evenly at the man and turned to start walking toward the remains of what looked like one of her ‘adopted’ sibling’s ships. She didn’t think to ask which of the five he and the others had to kill to get the ship. She didn’t care.

              “Then stay here. I really don’t care what you do,” she answered, picking her way through rocks and debris. Nebula wasn’t sure where Thanos would go now, she hoped that he would not return to Titan, but she needed a new plan to go after him. She failed twice and lost everything. She didn’t care about what happened this time.

         Nebula stood before the massive ship, the main deck looking like it had imploded on itself. While the thought of flying it straight into Thanos, like she had done with the pod when she arrived on Titan, was mildly entertaining to her, she knew the ship wasn’t flyable and that finding the Milano was still her best option to get off the planet. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know the Terran was following her, she could hear his feet dragging over the rocks and side stepping the broken pieces of the ship.

              Nestled to the side of a boulder, and under a fresh coat of red dust sat Quill’s ship.The side door was still open as if he had expected this to be a dash and go mission. Nebula would have liked to have had the ability to be that hopeful, but Thanos never made anything easy. Not for her anyway. She walked over to the open cargo door, the inside dim and hollow.

              “How is it this managed to come out unscratched,” the Terran man questioned, not hesitating to climb on board the ship.

              Nebula considered the stupid amount of luck Quill had in the past. “Lot of good it is to him now,” she mumbled as she approached the captain’s chair and then .

              “What?”

           “Nothing, just don’t touch anything-“

           “This ship yours?”

           “No, it was Quill’s,” she said frowning as she saw one of Gamora’s swords leaning against one of the chairs as she took apart the control panel of the ship. Nebula couldn’t imagine her sister leaving it there, she hated leaving her weapons lying around. Especially after she found Quill and Drax trying to hack away at each other with them…

           “So you knew his little gaggle?”

           “Yes.” She was more focused on getting the ship started and airborne the small talk the Terran was trying to make. The only thing on her mind was killing her father, and finding the means to do it. It hadn’t taken her long to find Thanos’ ship in the past, she could find him again. She had to.

           “You sure you can get this thing started?”

           “Yes.”

           “And your plan-“

           “I find Thanos, and kill him, make him suffer for everything he’s done, to me, to Gamora-”

           “And I’m just along for ride, right?” The Terran interrupted, “I get it. You want run right off after Thanos. I’d love to, too. But what are you planning to do once you find him? Crash a ship into him, and hope that does it? And then what we’re stranded, if not already dead?!”

           The inside lights of the ship came up at that moment, and though she knew he was right, Nebula just walked over to sword leaning against the chair. “Then what do you suggest, Terran?”

           “My name is Tony Stark, not Terran for starters,” he started as he looked out the front of the ship. “I say we go to earth. I don’t know what the damage there is like, but there might be some-“

           Nebula blinked at him when he stopped talking so abruptly. He stared out the glass like he’d just been slapped in the face.

           Stark quickly shook his head and continued but he seemed like he was forcing out every word, “-Some… people… who can possibly… help us fix this…”

           Nebula said nothing, not knowing what would make him react that way. Of course half the universe was gone, but she supposed it was starting to sink in for him that Titan was not the only planet affected by whatever her father did. She gave a small huff. She hated to admit it, but Stark was right. She’d never kill her father on her own, and if he thought they might find help on Earth, then so be it.

That’s where she would go.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Ocean Eyes  -  Three

Steve Rogers X Reader Mini Series

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Female!Mermaid!Reader

Summary: You’re in custody at the tower and no it’s time for you to reveal your tragic past to these ‘heroes’ who want nothing but to find out about you then drop you into the ocean.

Warnings: Angst, Torture, Descriptive Deaths, Descriptive Injuries,

Word Count: 4.7K

A/N: I’m baaaaack!!! I have so much inspiration and a lot of shit is gonna be coming so be prepared!! I hope y’all enjoy the third instalment of the ‘Ocean Eyes’ series! It’s gonna get kinda spicy!!!

Masterlist Series Masterlist 

You wake up in a large tank, the water just a bit too warm for liking. 

“I didn’t really think mermaids would... sink to sleep,” Steve notes when you break the surface. Your eyes flash to him. He sits in a chair a few feet away from where you are, a thick pane of glass between you two. 

“So I see my coffin has been exchanged for a small pool. How sweet.” He frowns and gets up to walk to the glass. “I really don’t want anything to happen to you. We just need answers.” 

You nod, swimming in a circle then pulling yourself out to sit on the ledge of the in-ground freshwater pool. “I would much rather not have a pane of glass between us. And not so many spectators.” You look pointedly towards the cameras in the corners of the room. 

“Just a precaution incase-” 

“Incase I wanted to harm you. You expect me to trust that you won’t hurt me but you don’t trust me not to hurt you? If I wanted any of you dead you’d be dead. Even that gravelly voiced female who has no manners whatsoever.” Steve chuckles then stands up, walking to the glass wall and typing in a code. 

A door opens and he walks in, his finger pressed to his ear. “Tony calm down. She’s right. We’ve given her no reason to trust us. I don’t think she’ll hurt me. And if she does then you can say I told you so.” He stands a few feet away from you and you look him up and down. He’s exchanged his suit for a pair of beige khaki pants and a tight black t-shirt.

“So what questions do you have for me? And could you please disable the microphones? The high-pitched squealing is hurting my head.” You glare in the direction of the noises. “Stark cut audio. I’ll be fine. Bucky and Nat are waiting outside.” The noise stops and you sigh, rubbing your forehead. “Why were you working with Hydra?” He asks softly. 

“A few decades ago... nearly five... I was at home with the rest of my pod. We lived deep in a trench in the Atlantic. My father was the leader of our pod so naturally he had a lot of children with his wife -my mother- Ariadné. There were fifteen of us in total. Nine girls, six boys. My sisters all started going off and finding mermen to be with. I stayed with my little brothers until they too started going off. All excepted little Tobias. He was only a child.” You fiddle with your webbed fingers as pain spreads through you at the memory.

“Then one day, one of my older sisters came home and told our father about a human man she found. He claimed to love her. He wanted to know about us, about what we were. Where we were. My father, being the protector, forbid her from seeing him again because of the previous slaughterings. Men would find us and kill us brutally. But she... she disobeyed him. She went to the man that night and they made love. Little did she know that he was only with her for one purpose.” You pause and swallow hard before continuing.

“The next day... we were doing a seasonal migration. Taking the pod with the southern currents when... they came... They found us because of my older sister. She was dead long before any of us could blink and they used her gills... her scales... her tears... to enable themselves to breathe underwater, as I found out later.” A tear drips down your cheek.

“They killed my father first. Then my mother. It was smart, taking out the strongest pod members. Then they went for my siblings. I found as many people as I could, hid them beneath reefs and inside of caves. Then, just as I’m about to find shelter for myself, I see it. They have Tobias. My smallest brother. I swim to him as fast as I can and then it happens. They catch me in a Vibranium net. I still have scars from it,” you whisper, your fingers tracing over the faint lines where you know the scars are.

“I was helpless. Forced to watch as they tortured my brother. Ripped his scales off one by one. Then they did it to my other brothers. Killing them for no reason except the fact that they existed. Anyone who tried to save me or them was promptly killed and left to fall to the ocean floor. All my siblings died that day. My whole family. And I... I was left to the hands of Hydra.

“When they brought me back to the base they gave me very strict instructions. They told me that they knew where I hid the others and if I didn’t cooperate... my whole pod would be dead.”

Steve stays silent the entire time, guilt filling him. 

“You wondered why I didn’t compel them. Because I couldn't! I had tried and when I did... I still have those scars too. I did what I did to protect my family. What was left of it.” His hand gently rests on your scaly shoulder and you look up at him through tears. “Even in my years with Hydra, I’ve never harmed a human. They used my to compel the truth out of them and compel others to do their bidding. I always did so in a way that would ensure their safety, regardless of the pain I would receive after.” 

A door opens and you look over at it, wiping your eyes quickly then submerging yourself under the water. “What did she say?” Nat’s voice asks. You swim to the very bottom of the tank and watch the two of them. “She told me what I need to know.” Nat nods and looks into the water. 

“Tony developed this. Wants to give it to her to make sure she’s telling the truth.” She holds up a small bottle before flipping it over and dumping the contents into the water. You watch, terrified as the substance spreads throughout the water. Steve rolls his eyes as she says some snarky remark and watches the water closely, his eyes finding yours. The substance finally reaches you and you can’t help but squeeze your eyes shut. 

It starts off slow. So slow you’re sure you’re imagining it. But then it gets stronger, harder, until the pain all but consumes you. 

You find yourself at the surface, glaring at Natasha. “Get. Out.” Your voice is a snarl so terrifying that she backs up a few paces. “What’s happening? Nat what the Hell was in that?” Steve asks while coming to where you are. 

He crouches down and helps you up so that you’re sitting out of the water, your tail still in it. You cry out as a piercing pain fills your lower half. 

“She... they’re forcing the-” your own scream cuts off what you were going to say. “What’s happening?!” You recognize Peter’s frantic voice. Your vision blurs as the pain rips at every single cell in your body. 

“Peter! I said stay away from...” Tony trails off as your back arches and you claw at your arms. Water drips down your body, peeling your scales off with it “Tony what the Hell did you do to her?!” Steve shouts, watching in horror as your scales drop off at an alarmingly fast rate. “It... I...” 

The rest happens in a flash. 

You lose control of your tail, splashing water on yourself and Steve by accident, and then it’s over.

The pain is gone. 

And you’re sitting beside Steve. 

Butt naked.

Your tail and scales gone.

It’s quiet for a moment before Steve’s moving to shield your body from view. “Peter cover your eyes!” Tony yells, grabbing onto the teenager and pulling him out of the room. 

Steve takes his shirt off and looks into your eyes while carefully pulling it over your head. “Are you alright?” He asks softly, taking your scale-less hand in his. You look up into his eyes then over his shoulder to the redhead. 

“I refuse to speak another word in her presence.” Steve looks back at Nat and she sighs, raising her hands up in surrender, then walking out. 

“They forced the change,” you begin quietly. 

“Every few months, mermaids are fertile. They’re then capable of coming on land, exchanging their tail for legs, and procreating with their mate. Then, three days after, they return to the water for nine months and four days until it’s time to give birth. Then they return to land, give birth, and bring the baby back to the water.” Steve’s eyes widen. “Of course there are certain mermaids who are capable of exchanging their tail for legs as they please due to their strong powers. I am not one of them.” You stare down at your new legs, tears in your eyes. 

“And now they’ve... they’ve turned me against my will. Not even Hydra did that! Mermaids who’ve been turned against their will... they usually don’t survive long. Now because of the fear of you humans, my days are limited. You people... you’ve condemned me to a certain slow and painful death.”

Steve can’t help but feel one hundred percent responsible for what happened. “You’ll be okay. I’ll.... I’ll get Tony to fix it...” You shake your head and turn your gaze towards the water. “Mermaids have certain healing abilities. If the strongest of us couldn’t fix this with a dozen others... there’s no way your science can. We’re more advanced. Nothing you can do will stop this.” 

The door opens and Peter runs in. “(Y/n)! A-are you okay?” He slides to his knees beside you. You shake your head glumly. “Tony and Natasha have... they’ve...” He looks at your legs as you trail off. “But, you can walk, right? You’ll be okay.” You look up at him and sigh. 

“I’ve never had legs before. And now that they’ve forced me to have them... I’ll die within a few weeks. Maybe a month at most.” His eyes swim with tears. “What?! They-they’re killing you?!” You turn away from him and look up at Steve. “Steve... she can’t be serious! She saved my life and this is how Tony thanks her?!” You turn back to him with a sad smile. 

“Family is one of the most important things in the world, Peter. I want you to go.” He shakes his head. “You’re good, (Y/n). You’re not one of the bad guys.” You sniffle then look down at your hands. 

“They don’t believe that.” 

“Well I do.” You’re surprised at Steve’s suddenly fierce voice. 

“We’ll figure out how to help you. Until then though, we’ll need to get you settled somewhere.” You look up at him with suspicious eyes. 

“Why? Why should I trust that they won’t harm me? Am I not safer in here? Or on the streets even?” He stands up and pulls you with him, keeping an arm around your waist as your legs shake. 

“Peter, go tell Tony to start working to reverse whatever he did. Explain the situation to him and to the rest of the team. Tell them that they’re killing an innocent woman who has only saved lives. Not taken any.” Peter nods and runs out of the room. “Okay. We’re gonna walk. You ready?” You shrug and let him pull you a step. 

You’re shaky and slow, but slowly getting the hang of it. “You remind me of Bambi,” he muses as you approach the door. “Bambi? Who’s that?” He chuckles and helps you through the doorway and to the elevator. 

“A fictional character. We’ll need to watch Disney movies at some point before-” “I die.” 

Steve shakes his head. “I was going to say before you go back to what’s left of your pod.” The doors open and you stumble inside, feeling exhausted. “Hey, easy.” He catches you before you can fall to the floor. 

“Okay. I’m gonna bring you up to my room and you can sleep there ‘till we find a room for you. I’ll get Wanda to let you borrow some clothes, maybe make Bucky run out to the store and pick you up some clothes.” You can only manage a nod, your legs completely failing you.

Steve stoops down and catches you in his arms before you hit the ground, carrying you bridal style as the doors open. “I don’t like this,” you whisper, kicking your legs lightly to indicate what you’re talking about. 

He nods, opening a door then laying you on a bed gently. “Get some sleep. We’ll fix this soon. I promise. I’ll have Wanda grab some clothes for you so sit tight.” You’re asleep as soon as the door shuts behind him.

~

When you wake up you’re dressed in a pair of undergarments, sweatpants, and a tank top. Shivering slightly, you sit up and pull the blankets tighter around yourself. 

“You’re awake,” an accented female voice says. You look to the sound and smile lightly at the girl there. 

She looks only a few years older than Peter. 

“Steve is in the common room. The bathroom is right through there,” she points to a door in the room, “and once you’re finished I’ll take you to Cap.” You nod and carefully pull yourself out of the bed, taking a few shaky steps towards the bathroom then shutting the door behind you. 

On the counter lies a toothbrush with your name written in black marker on the handle.

You do your business quickly then open the door, feeling fresh. “C’mon. Tony and Nat want to formally apologize.” You walk slowly behind her but she doesn't seem to mind. “You trust me. Why?” You asks suddenly. She turns to you and offers you a small smile. 

“I can... see inside your head. I know you’re being truthful. And besides, I’ve been in a position similar to yours before.” She helps you into the elevator and presses a button. “The real question is, why do you trust us?” You sigh and look down at your bare feet. “Because. It’s not in my nature to distrust. It is exhausting to be wary of people so I will continue offering chances until it’s the death of me.” 

The doors open and she helps you out into a large open space. Couches sit by a huge tv and large windows, and on the other side of the room is a kitchen. 

“(Y/n)... you’re up,” Steve says while walking to you. He takes Wanda’s spot and helps you to the largest couch, sitting down with you and looking at Tony and Natasha. 

“(Y/n)... Peter and Steve told us about...” Tony motions to your legs. “I’m sorry. I never meant to...” You nod, avoiding his eyes. “I forgive you. Both of you. I understand that your fear compelled you. I harbour no negative emotions towards you two except skepticism. And perhaps a smidgen of distrust.” Nat avoids your eyes. 

“I... I’m sorry.” You reach out to her, smiling softly as she takes your hand. “I forgive you. I understand that you’re wary of people. But as you’ve come to realize, I’m not like regular people.” She nods once and you sigh, turning back to Steve. 

“What’s to happen to me while we wait for the results which will no doubt be inconclusive?” You ask glumly. He squeezes your shoulders comfortingly. “Well, I figure you probably haven’t experienced much, so Peter and I decided we’re gonna take you to central park for a little walk.” You smile lightly as the teenager walks to you and takes your hand. He helps you to your feet slowly, keeping one hand ready to catch you if you fall. 

“Here Peter, I’ll help her. You go get ready. It’s kinda chilly outside,” Steve says while taking Peter’s spot, wrapping his arm protectively around your waist and helping you into the elevator. 

You lean against him and close your eyes for a moment, your legs aching from the new use of them. “You’d think with how powerful your tail is, your legs would be stronger,” he murmurs as the doors open. You shrug, wobbling to your door with him supporting you the entire way. 

“I... Are you gonna need... help dressing?” He finally utters the words with a blush on his face while you open the door. 

You smile up at him and shake your head. “No, I don’t think so. If you could stay in here though just in case, that would be much appreciated.” He nods and lets you go while walking to the wall, suddenly intrigued by a painting. 

You pull off your shirt and exchange it for a sweatshirt with the Avengers Logo on it. You then kick your sweatpants off, squealing as you tumble to the floor. 

“Are you okay? Can I help or are you... indecent?” You push yourself up to a seated position and glare at your new appendages. “I’m fine. I hate these things though.” He chuckles quietly and taps his feet on the floor while humming lightly. 

You struggle to pull a pair of skinny jeans over your ankles. “Steve? I... I think I need some help.” You avoid his eyes as he turns and walks over to you. “Okay, you’re gonna stand up and hold onto me for support and I’m gonna pull your pants up.” You nod and look up at him as he helps you off of your seated position on the bed to your feet. Your legs wobble and you grab his shoulders, sighing at the relief. 

“Okay. I’m gonna pull your pants up now.” His fingers trail over your sides and down your legs, causing goosebumps to rise on your soft skin. He pulls your pants up, his cheeks flushing as his fingers brush against your derrière. “Sorry.” You look up into his eyes and offer him a small, timid smile. 

“You’re helping me. You don’t need to apologize for accidentally brushing against my body.” He only nods while buttoning up your jeans then sitting you on the bed and grabbing the shoes Wanda left. He puts the ankle socks on you then slips your new feet into the runners, tying them tightly. 

He sits back on his heels and looks up at you, waiting for you to stand up again. You do just that, taking a careful step and testing out the shoes. “They’re very constricting. Not ideal. But they’ll work. Are we leaving now?” You ask him. He nods and wraps his arm around your waist, helping you to walk out of your -his- room and into the elevator.

~

“Wow. It’s incredible,” you breathe, your eyes flitting around, trying to consume as much information as you can. Trying so hard to engrain the image of Central Park into your mind. 

“It is,” Steve agrees, his arm tight around your waist as he pulls you to a nice looking patch of grass. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so excited about visiting central park before,” Peter murmurs while watching Steve help you sit down on the grass. 

You smile and touch the green blades. “At my holding cell... it was fake. Plastic plants,” you explain softly. He nods and plops down beside you while Steve sits on your other side and smiles. 

“Must be really strange. After decades of being held captive... to just be out and free. In a practically different body too,” Steve says. You nod, tracing patterns on your legs. “They’re strong. That much I know for sure. Difficult to use and navigate though.” Peter looks at your legs and nods. “Easily conceivable. It’s so sad that this had to happen. I wish we could’ve met you under better circumstances.” You smile lightly and touch his hand, playing with his fingers.

“In my... culture, we see death as an opportunity to learn. I used the death of my family to learn about all the negative emotions that are usually kept hidden. I learned the extent of my abilities, how to suppress negative impulses. But I also learned how hard it is to trust again. Especially the species who slaughtered my brothers and sisters.” You take a breath in then look up at Peter. “However when I saw you... I knew I couldn’t leave you. There was something in you pulling me to you. And I think I now know what it is.” Peter’s eyebrows raise in silent question. 

“You remind me of my youngest brother. Probably the most humble, giving, and innocent being I have ever encountered. You have an innocence and an open-mindedness that I’ve only ever seen in my own people.” His cheeks redden and he looks down while mumbling a quiet ‘thank you’.

You look over at the other man with a sad smile. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. Your eyebrows raise. “What for?” He looks down at your legs with a frown. 

“For not doing more to get them to trust you. You’re good. You don’t deserve this.” You shrug, “you people were scared. I understand.” He shakes his head and looks out across the park. 

“Hey! How about we go to the bakery across the street from the tower? I could use some macaroons right about now!” Peter’s excited voice breaks the tension with ease. “That’s a great idea Peter! We can get some snacks and stuff to munch on. I’m sure you’ll enjoy french pastries. They’re amazing.” 

You grin and nod at Steve, enjoying how lighthearted everything is between the three of you now. “You’re in for a real treat today!” Steve and Peter both rise to their feet, the former taking your hands and helping you to stand up. You wobble for a moment until his arm goes around your waist, supporting a fair amount of your weight and helping keep you steady and stable. 

“So Peter,” Steve begins after a few moments of quiet, slow walking, “How’s school going?” Peter immediately launches into a detailed story of his school life, his homework, his teachers, and his classmates. You laugh along as he tells you about him embarrassing himself in front of his crush. 

“Hey is there school... where you come from?” Steve shoots the boy a look, knowing that this is a sensitive topic for you. You lightly place your hand on Steve’s shoulder. “It’s alright. And yes, we had school. Although it was very different than what you do, we learned some of the same things. I know everything in the human school curriculum and then some.” Peter’s jaw drops and you smile.

“Well, here we are. Let’s go pick out some snacks and then we’ll eat them on the rooftop patio,” Steve says while pulling you into a quaint little bakery. 

An amazing smell fills your nostrils and you groan, looking around at all the food in the displays. “It smells so incredible in here,” you whisper. Steve chuckles and pulls you to a glass case filled with different types of tarts, mini pies, and pastries. 

“Captain Rogers! What can I help you with today?” An older, rotund woman with a french accent asks while hurrying out of the kitchen. 

Steve smiles, “Good morning Colette. I’ve brought my friend today. She’s not from around here and she has never tried any kind of french pastries. I want to have her try nearly everything you have before she leaves.” You smile at the woman and her eyes widen. 

“Mon Dieu elle best trés belle!” Steve smiles and looks at you. “Oui, elle est.” You hardly hear the two of them as your eyes focus on something coming out of the kitchen. “My goodness what is that? It smells and looks incredible!” You exclaim. 

Colette smiles, “and she has good taste too! These are our fresh crêpes. Filled with our own whipped cream, fresh fruit, and a pinch of confectionary sugar. Would you like one?” You look up at Steve and smile as he nods. 

“Three of those please, two of every flavour of macaron, two chocolate-hazelnut filled croissants, and.... two lemon-strawberry tarts please.” Colette nods and you watch as she scurries around, grabbing different treats and snacks from the display cases. “That’ll be thirty-four dollars,” she says after handing Peter the boxes of treats. Steve hands her a one hundred dollar bill then shakes his head as he goes to give her change. 

“Keep the change. Buy your daughter that necklace she’s been wanting.” You watch in awe as Colette’s eyes fill with tears. “Bless you Captain Rogers. Bless you.” Steve winks at her then ushers you out of the bakery only to guide you to a flight of stairs on the side of the building. 

“That was very sweet of you,” you whisper while slowly trudging up the flight of stairs. Steve shrugs, a faint blush painting his cheeks a pretty shade of pink. 

“Colette’s so nice,” Peter muses from behind the two of you. Steve nods, pushing the gate to the rooftop patio open and helping you onto the gravel, the rocks throwing you off guard for a moment and you slow down a tad. The sun peeks out and shines onto your skin, warming you further as you sit down at a table with Steve and Peter. 

“So (Y/n)... I have no idea how your culture works so please just bear with me, but I have more questions for you.” You smile at the teenager and nod, looking over at Steve as he sets a small plate on the table in front of you. “Here. Try some of this,” he whispers while setting a crêpe onto the plate. 

You pick it up carefully and lick your lips, getting nervous as you feel both Steve and Peter staring at you, waiting for you to try the pastry. You take a medium sized bite and close your eyes, moaning softly and savouring the flavour. 

“You like it?” Steve asks with a chuckle, subconsciously leaning towards you as you nod. You take another bite, nibbling on it and opening your eyes to look at Steve and Peter respectively. Steve leans his cheek in his hand and watches as you finish your crêpe. “That was absolutely delicious!” You turn back to look at Steve with an excited smile on your face. 

“Wait ‘till you try the macaroons.” He pulls said items out of the little decorative box and carefully breaks one in half, setting half on your plate and the other half on his. He gives the full macaroons in each flavour to Peter, along with his crêpe, croissant, and tart. Peter digs in while Steve continues halving the rest of the desserts for the two of you to share. 

“Oh my! These are so frickin’ good!” You giggle and look over at Peter as his eyes roll back into his head while he eats his croissant. “Here, try a macaroon,” Steve says gently. You pick up a light pink half and pop it into your mouth, letting the flavour burst before you start chewing. Your eyelids close for a moment and you nod, opening your eyes again and looking up at Steve. 

“Do you have any water? I don’t think I’ve had so many sweets in such a short period of time.” He chuckles and looks over your shoulder. “Hey Peter you wanna go down and buy two large water bottles and whatever drink you want for yourself?” The teenager jumps at the mention of him getting whatever drink he wants and runs down the stairs. 

“That one was really good. I really like these pastries. They’re very good.” Steve nods and pushes half of the croissant towards you. “You, Steve, are going to give me diabetes. And I cannot thank you enough for it!” Steve laughs from deep in his belly as you scarf down the rest of the treats on your plate before Peter even comes back. 

Once all of you are finished, Steve helps you stand then starts walking with you towards the tower to get you officially settled for your stay.

NEXT PART

[jungibee]

Avengers: Infinity War, but my fav ships have children.

——————

pt.1

——————

trigger warning

.bruce x thor - established relationship

.stephen x tony - established relationship

pt.2

The Guardians were making their way through Asgardian ruin, when a large man cradling a girl, smashed up on the windshield, “Wipe it! Wipe it!”, Rocket complained. Gamora got out of her chair, “Come on Peter, help me.”

————

The Guardians carefully laid the Asgardians on a table. They were talking about Thor’s advent when Mantis puts her hand on Thor’s forehead, “He is anxious, angry, he feels tremendous loss and guilt.”, Mantis confirmed, “It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel.”, Drax said more to himself, “And the girl?”, Gamora asked, Mantis then repeated the action on the other, “She’s extremely anxious and sad.”, Mantis said full of sorrow. “Come on then, wake em up.”, Quill demanded. Thor jolted up and merely ran to the other side of the other room, getting all the guardians attention, nobody noticing the trembling girl. “Who the hell are you guys?”, Thor asked out. They each introduced themselves and what they were and Thor the same. Thor then noticed his daughter sitting in a chair next to a tree, he walked over to her and put a his hand on her shoulder, sitting next to her and pulling her shaking frame closer, “This is my daughter Amaya.”, the guardians all pointed a grin her way.

Mantis brought the gods food and while they slowly ate, they listened to Gamora describe the intentions of Thanos, which lead to them finding out Gamora was Thano’s daughter, causing Thor to get up, making it seem like he was made only for him to put a hand on her shoulder and reassure her that it can be tough, telling her about his family. The god of thunder then walked over to the pod, trying to access the pod, which led to him and the one they call Quill to get into a quarrel, which made Amaya laugh to herself at how ridiculous the two are.

“Enough, we need to stop Thanos, which means we need to find out where he’s going next.”, Gamora spoke up, ending the twos childish banter, “Nowhere.”, Thor answered, “He must be going somewhere.”, “No, Nowhere, that’s a place, we’ve been there it sucks- excuse me that’s our food.”, “Not anymore.”

Amaya had blocked out the conversations until she heard her father call out her name, she got up and walked to him, “Yes father?”, “I know you’re scared, but listen to me, I need you to stay with these guys, okay? Now it’s going to be dangerous, but you are one of the strongest gods known and you’re the best chance these guys have, alright darling? We’ll meet again soon once I have my new hammer, and I’ll kill Thanos and everything will go back to the way it was. Just you, your father, and I.”, Amaya simply nodded whispering an okay, and then pulled her father into an imbrace, “Promise me,father, you’ll come back.”, “I promise dear, I love you.”, and with that he got into the pod with Rocket and Groot and left.

——————

-somewhere in space, in a flying donut-

——————

The siblings were both creeping around this ship, looking for at least one of their dads. “Wow. You are a seriously loyal piece of hardware.”, they heard the voice of Tony close by and creeped up in front of him, “Speaking of loyalty..”, Peter tested, Tony snapping his gaze to his children and was instantly furious, “-I know what your gonna say, bu-“, Peter started, but was interrupted by his sister, “Daddy I tried talking him out of i-“, “Uh no you didn’t, you were all for it.”, Peter quipped before she could finish, “And now I have to hear it.”, their dad said to himself, “-and well now we’re in space”, Peter finished, “Yeah, right where I didn’t want you to be!”, their dad continued to get angry, “You’d rather abandon us, your only children, on a world that’s in flames, that’s real fatherly really, and what if you and pop didn’t come back, what would happen to us?”, Hailey was really concerned and was now popping off at her dad, who just turned around and gestured them to follow him. They got to the ledge of where they were and looked down to see Stephen with a bunch of ice sickle looking things being poked into his skin, “See that, that’s you’re dad, he’s in trouble. What’s your plan? Go.”, Tony looked at the teens sternly.

“Hm um, okay, um”, Peter got up from where he was crouching, “Ok, you ever see this really old movie Aliens?”, “Peter, this isn’t a movie, this is really life and that’s my dad.”, “Our dad and can’t you just trust me?”, Hailey just rolled her eyes and went beside Tony, who looked down at her with sympathy. Stephan’s screams could be heard, causing tears to pool in his daughters eyes as she watched him suffer, “Peter, what ever this plan is can you hurry it up?”

——

Tony crept up beside the creature holding Stephan, “Back away squidward.”, he said to the thing, “You’ll do nothing, your powers are inconsequential to mine.”, the creature pushed, “Yeah, but the kids have seen more movies.” and with that he blasted a hole in the side of the spaceship, sending the creature and stephan out to space, “Peter get him!”, Hailey yelled to her brother who jumped down and tried his best to web up their father, in which he succeed before he could fly away into the stars. Tony fixed the ship and peter dropped Stephan, Hailey running towards him and helping him up, Tony walking and joining to rest of his family.

“We need to turn this ship around.”, Stephan spoke, “Yeah, now he wants to run.”, their dad sassed, “I wanted to protect the stone.”, “And I want you to think me now, go ahead i’m listening.”, “For what, nearly blasting me into space?”, “Who just saved your magical ass? Me.”, “I seriously don’t know how you fit your head into that helmet.”, “Admit it, you should've ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you, you refused.”, “Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you.”, “And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut, billions of miles from Earth, with no back-up.”, the two bickered, “We’re back-up!”, their children spoke up, “No. You're stowaway.The adults are talking.”

Stephan turned around to see his children, “You let the kids on the ship?!”, he then quipped at his husband, “Hailey Blaine, I thought I told you not to leave the Sanctorum?”, this made the girl go stiff and look down. “I didn’t let them on the ship, I told them to go home, but of course they didn’t listen.”, Tony answered his husbands previous question.

“The ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot.”, Tony began speaking to himself, “Can we control it? Fly us home?”, Strange asked, “Hun?”, he asked out when he didn’t get an answer, “Yeah?”, “Can you get us home?”, “Yeah, heard you, but I'm not so sure we should.”, “Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here.”,

“No, Thanos has been inside my head for six years, since he sent an army to New York, and now he's back and I don't know what to do.

So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least, let's hope he's not expecting it, so I say we take the fight to him, Doctor.”, Stephan just let his husband finish, he put his hand on his waist, “Do you concur?”, “Alright, so we go to him, but what of the kids, huh, what about you, what if he uses one of y’all to get me? Then I’ll have no choice, and that just brings him one step closer to destroying the universe as we know it.”, “Well we can only hope.”

Tony walked over to his kids and put his hand on Peters shoulder, “Kid.. you’re an avenger now.”, Peter just smiled to himself, “What? How come he gets to be an avenger?”, his sister quipped, “Hailey, no complaining in space.”, the girl just huffed and walked over to Stephen. “Pop?”, the girl looked up to her dad, “Yes dear?”, “If I can’t be an Avenger, can I be a wizard?”, “We’ll see dear, we’ll see.”, he put his hand around her shoulder and followed the others.

————

i spelt stephen with an ‘a’ too many times but oops

@cherryhao

————

[inchidentally]

Lando referring to Martin as Mr. Garrix and touching his mouth bashfully reminded me of someone else who Lando refers to as mister quite a bit

[yuki-setsu]

[Extra Fic] Stay With Me (Lance Whump)

[edit: lmao i can’t tumblr and accidentally deleted my original post so here i am reposting it sorry aklsfjaklfj]

hello writer’s block for my current WIP is kicking my literal ass so please take the original story i’d written for Day 5 of Lance Whumpmas :’) i finished this story, but then the actual story i posted for Day 5 came into my head and i ended up liking that one better so this has just been sitting in my folders oops;; the theme for that day was Burns hehe

The mission had just been to scope out an abandoned Galra site, to see if there was any useful information they could scavenge and make sure there weren't any covert operations still going on. With almost all of the rooms in the hideout rummaged through, Lance was starting to relax. They'd all split up to finish the task faster, and no one had run into any stray Galra soldiers. Pidge even mentioned finding some new information on a Galra supply route she'd been tracking. So far, so good.

Lance peeked into another room filled with darkened screens. It was pretty empty, save for a few abandoned Galra guns on the ground. Everything looked like it had been inactive for a while. He stepped inside, bayard still out just in case. Probably wouldn't find anything in here either, though.

“Pidge, did you get everything you need?” Shiro asked through the comms.

“Almost. A few more ticks.”

Lance sidestepped another fallen gun as Shiro spoke. “Sounds good. We'll regroup and leave once Pidge is done. Great work, everyone.”

Hunk cleared his throat. “I finished my section of the base, so I'll just... start heading back towards the exit.”

“Same here.” Keith added.

Lance hummed, light and soft. “Bet I can beat you both to my Lion even with the headstart you guys have.”

“Oh really?” There was a smile in Hunk's voice. “Challenge accepted.”

Lance peered at the broken screens and control panel, deciding to give them a few more seconds just out of the goodness of his heart. He wasn't a fan of the eerie quiet, but he'd take that over dealing with hostile Galra at this point. Hunk's footsteps echoed through the comms, and Lance waited one more tick before he started towards the door. He'd been so focused on the ambient noises in his helmet that he almost missed the low beeping that crept into his ears. But even when he stiffened up and focused his hearing, he barely heard it. He whipped around, eyes landing on an object the size of a volleyball sitting on the ground a few feet away.  The slight glow around it—which definitely wasn't there before—intensified with large crackles of electricity, and Lance only managed one step backwards, bayard raised to cover his face, before he felt it explode.

When Lance came to again, he was on the floor, his entire body feeling like it had been electrocuted. He couldn't even tell if he passed out, his mind hazy with pain. His body jerked as he tried to take in a full breath, each inhale not quite making it all the way. Any attempt he made to move his body failed miserably, but the effort hurt too much and he gave up trying.

“—at happened, was that Lance?!” Allura's voice crept in past the ringing in his ears, muffled and distant.

“He's not responding. I'm heading to him right now.” Shiro said, the urgency in his tone spiking up Lance's anxiety. He tried to speak—tell them he was fine, just a little dazed. But words failed him as he started to panic, the air starting to feel more like mud as it tried to pass through his lungs. His stomach burned every time he tried to take a deep breath. Breathing. He needed to focus on breathing right now.

A bunch of other voices rang out, overlapping in a way that made any sentence impossible to decipher. He heard his name a lot, though. Lance bit back a groan, trying to figure out what hit him. Something like a bomb, obviously. He figured his armor took most of the damage, but shit everything hurt.

“Shiro,” Lance gasped out, hearing the comms immediately peter off into silence.

And Shiro responded, his relief nearly palpable through the comms. “I'm here, Lance. I'm on my way. So are the others. I need you to tell me what happened.”

Lance tried to focus on the conversation, his vision blurring every few seconds. “Bomb... I think.”

“Bomb?!” Hunk cried out, panicked.

Had it been a bomb? Suddenly, Lance wasn't sure anymore. Another spasm drowned out any coherent thought he'd been gathering, waves of pain stabbing at every inch of his body. “Buncha electricity.” Lance groaned, hissing out a breath. “I can't—can't move. Hurts too much.”

“Don't move, I'm almost there.” Shiro said. He sounded calm, in control. Lance clung to it desperately, his mind needing a steady tether to grip onto. “Where does it hurt?”

Lance tried to move a hand, stopping at the jolt of pain that shot through when he did. “Everywhere.” An even bigger pain, this time near his torso. “Stomach.”

“I found him.” Shiro piped up, and Lance it took a moment of confusion to realize he was speaking to the others. “Give me a moment.”

A hand touched his shoulder, and Lance jerked in surprise, hissing when another flood of pain blinded him. The hand disappeared just as quickly.

“Sorry, I'm sorry, Lance.” Shiro spoke, his voice filling Lance's ears with surprising clarity. His vision cleared enough to catch Shiro crouched above him, face awash with worry. “It's me.”

It was a relief, to say the least, to see Shiro. The tension in his shoulders loosened just a bit, and he worked on getting air into his chest while Shiro continued to talk into the comm. Whatever Shiro and the others were saying was lost in Lance's head, all of the sounds melting into distant mumbles. Shiro's gaze kept alternating from him to something to the side of the room—probably at whatever it was that exploded. Lance felt a weight against his side as Shiro looked back at him, clearly speaking to him this time, and Lance did his best to try to focus back on the conversation.

“—n you hear me, Lance? I need you to stay awake, okay? Stay with me. The others are almost here.”

Lance nodded—or tried to. His body felt unbelievably heavy, like something big decided to take refuge on top of his chest. Exhaustion was probably starting to kick in, and Lance just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. But Shiro had asked him to stay awake, so he tried his best to push that feeling away.

“... 'm I dying?” Lance mumbled, feeling a bit regretful for asking the question when he saw Shiro's expression. Why would he even ask something like that? It was a terrible question.

“You're not dying.” Despite how he looked, Shiro's voice was surprisingly calm and confident. The weight against Lance's side grew a bit heavier. “Once we get you in the pod, you'll be fine. Just focus on breathing, kiddo.”

So he did. Shiro glanced up at the rumble of footsteps, and Lance suddenly saw Hunk and Pidge crowd his view of the ceiling. They glanced at him and then somewhere further down his body, the panic blatantly evident on their faces. He spotted Keith just a bit to the side talking to Shiro, although his expression didn't look too good, either. Despite what Shiro said, everyone sure looked like he was dying.

Hunk suddenly leaned over, so close their helmets nearly bumped. He smiled. “Hey, buddy. I don't know if you heard the comm, but Coran had a few questions. Are you able to move your neck?”

Lance nodded, turning it side to side at Hunk's request, albeit limply. Hunk looked relieved at that.

“Where's it hurting the most?”

Lance considered it for a second. He couldn't tell if the pain had receded anywhere. At least the spasms had stopped. “My stomach...”

Hunk nodded, grim. “You got a pretty nasty burn there, dude. But we can fix that. Can you breathe okay?”

The weight on Lance's chest hadn't gone away, his breaths still shaky as they rattled down his throat. His body burned with each inhale, the injury on his stomach probably irritated whenever he breathed in. “A little. It's hard.”

Hunk glanced at Shiro before he finally leaned back, the worried look back on his face. “We can probably move him, right? I don't think there's a spinal injury.”

Shiro nodded. “Get ready to head back to the ship. We're gonna go fast.” He glanced back down, looking a bit apologetic. “Lance, I'm gonna carry you, but it'll probably hurt.”

Lance had expected as much, anyways. He huffed out a breath, bracing himself. “Kay.”

Shiro straightened, and the weight against Lance's side disappeared. Oh, Shiro had been holding his hand. Lance couldn't really ponder much on it before Shiro scooped him up, and the pain in his stomach rippled through his body in furious waves.

Maybe he screamed, because Shiro muttered out an apology before sprinting. Everything was a blur during that time, and Lance honestly wasn't sure if he blacked out. But when he came to, he felt himself lying back on the ground, someone propping him up. He blinked the white spots out of his eyes, hoping that his now-frantic breaths weren't as loud as they sounded in his ears. They were in the Black Lion, from what he could tell.

Someone gently tugged his helmet off, and Lance was grateful for the open breathing space, his head falling to the side and against something hard. Paladin armor, he realized. Fingers carded through his hair, almost methodical in their movements.

“You're gonna be fine. Stay with me.” Hunk's voice drifted into his ears, and Lance felt himself relax a bit. Hunk mumbled little words of encouragement the whole ride back, and Lance could only lie there and listen, fully exhausted at that point. Before he knew it, they must've arrived, because Hunk suddenly moved to pick him up, the pain greeting him full force once more.

This time, Lance did pass out.

-

Lance woke up falling, although he felt someone catch him before he could instinctively panic at the realization. Sleep was still heavy on his eyelids, and he was glad that whoever was hugging him was basically holding up his entire weight. They finally pulled back, and Lance caught Hunk's beaming face, the others crowded up behind him with equal looks of concern and relief.

“Man, am I glad you're awake.” Hunk sighed, his hands still firm on Lance's shoulders. “You feel all better now? Not that I doubt the pods or anything, but...”

The fog in Lance's mind started to clear up, and he glanced down, catching the white of the healing pod suit. Breathing was fine now, the pain he'd felt before now a distant figment of his imagination. He looked up, a smile on his face. “All good, my dude. Maybe even better.”

It was like all the tension melted from the room, and the group stepped back a bit to give some more space. Lance straightened up, shifting his weight from side to side. “So, what hit me?”

Coran was the one who spoke up. “It seems to have been a Galra-crafted explosive. Set to detonate electricity should any intruders come after the base had been abandoned. For all we know, there could be more scattered around the base, but that was only one we detected.”

Lance huffed out a laugh. “Guess I was the lucky winner.”

Someone lightly punched his arm, and Lance caught Pidge scowling at him. “That's not something to brag about.” Her expression softened. “I'm glad you're okay, though.”

The smile on Lance's face grew before he reached out and tugged Pidge into a bear hug. “Aww. C'mere, you.” Pidge resisted for a half a second and then caved, returning his hug with surprising enthusiasm.

“We should get you something to eat after you find a change of clothes.” Allura piped up lightly. “Everyone can take the rest of the day to relax. We all need it. Especially you, Lance.”

“She's right.” Shiro said. “We can meet you in the kitchen after you're dressed.” He reached out, giving Lance's shoulder a quick squeeze. “You did great today.”

Lance flushed a bit, the embarrassment tickling at his stomach. “I didn't... really do anything.”

Pidge disentangled herself from Lance's grip as the group began to move towards the medical bay doors, although she still stuck close to his side. Hunk laughed, “Just take the compliment.”

Lance could barely think of a retort before another thought hit him. “Wait, I won the challenge right?”

Hunk blinked. “Challenge?”

“I bet Shiro and I reached the Lions before you or Keith did. So I won.”

Keith looked over at him, face scrunched in disbelief. “What? I can't believe you're thinking about that challenge after what happened.”

Lance clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Don't try to pretend like this win didn't happen, dude. Life—or-death situation or not, the facts stay true.” He glanced at Shiro. “Did we get to the Lions first?”

Shiro contemplated for a moment before he slowly nodded. “We... did. It was an emergency, so I ran pretty fast.”

Lance beamed, triumphant. “Haha! Winner winner, chicken dinner. Take that, Mullet!”

Keith didn't look at all convinced. “That definitely didn't count.”

“Did so.”

“The challenge should only count when any of the participants aren't actively dying.”

“Dude, just accept it. You lost. I won.”

Pidge groaned, grumbling under her breath. “I seriously can't believe you two are arguing over this.”

A few more seconds of bickering later, they agreed on a rematch in the near future, and Lance headed to his room to change, his chest lighter than ever. Despite the chaotic end to that mission, he felt happy and his heart felt full.

His stomach, on the other hand, felt pretty empty. Food couldn't come soon enough.

[fajnysport]

Cristiano Ronaldo reaguje po tym, jak Liverpool pokonał Manchester United

Manchester United przetrwał jeden z najgorszych dni w swojej historii w niedzielny wieczór, kiedy został zniszczony przez Liverpool na Old Trafford. The Reds w Koszulki Piłkarskie ponieśli bolesną porażkę 5-0 z Merseysiders Jurgena Kloppa. United grali bezpiecznie i wciąż przegrali, przeciwko słabszym zespołom często jest jeszcze czas, aby United naprawiło swoje początkowe problemy w meczach, ale przeciwko drużynie tak dobrej jak Liverpool po prostu tego nie pokona. Paul Pogba w koszulka Manchester United został wyrzucony z boiska w drugiej połowie, ale pod koniec pierwszej połowy doszło do kolejnego incydentu, gdy Cristiano Ronaldo wyrzucił z Curtisa Jonesa, co rozwścieczyło piłkarzy Liverpoolu. Były napastnik Liverpoolu i Anglii, Peter Crouch, zakwestionował styl gry Cristiano Ronaldo w Manchesterze United – zastanawiając się, czy portugalski gwiazdor dobrze pasuje do jego obecnej pozycji. Portugalski napastnik miał na sobie Koszulki Piłkarskie i już kilka razy przyszedł na ratunek United, odkąd przeszedł do klubu, ale nie mógł nic zrobić, aby zapobiec upokorzeniu. Największy strzelec w historii męskiej gry nie mógł powstrzymać frustracji, gdy pod koniec pierwszej połowy zaatakował Curtisa Jonesa. Miał szczęście, że uciekł bez czerwonej kartki. W poście na Instagramie późno w niedzielę wieczorem Ronaldo podzielił się tą wiadomością ze swoimi fanami w koszulka Manchester United: „Czasami wynik nie jest tym, o który walczymy. Czasami wynik nie jest taki, jakiego chcemy.” Poziomy występów Ronaldo również spadły - bez bramek w ostatnich trzech meczach ligowych. Manchester United jest obecnie siódmy w Premier League, wygrywając tylko cztery z dziewięciu pierwszych meczów.

[rainkilled-a]

Peter and Helo: Completed Discord Threads 002

In which Peter and Helo meet for the first time on the drop ship. Read at your discretion, you might die of soft cuteness in this one. @waldenborn

Rainkilled

Peter was damn near shaking. The had lined them up, single file, loading them onto the dropship without telling them anything that was going on. He caught sight of Bree as they boarded, but didn't have time or space to reach out to her before they were all being forced into seats and strapped in. And then someone was grabbing his wrist, slapping a metal band on him. He looked around wildly, watching the others all go through the same thing. And then the doors shut. It took Peter a moment to realize they were moving. It was slow at first, like they were floating. And he watched a few kids take their belts off. And then, suddenly, it was fast. Too fast. They were plummeting.

Waldenborn

This was worse than what turbulence that the Ark would endure on a rare blue moon. It was worse than when they could feel a pod escape the orbit of the Ark and into it's own space. This was knocking on Death's door itself, holding hands with a Reaper and Hope in another. And as Helo's hands coiled about the belt that kept him in place, he knew that as the dropship rumbled, shook, and entered the potentially toxic atmosphere, it wouldn't save him. Quickly, as though his mind had a mind of his own, he reached out to grasp the hand of the person next to him.

Rainkilled

Peter felt his hand get grabbed, and as if an instinct, he squeezed back. In a quick moment, his head looked to the side and he saw the boy he was holding hands with. Dark hair, golden eyes, but his handsomeness was laced with fear the Peter was certain was mirrored on his own face. Without thinking too hard, Peters hand moved in Helo's, fingers linking with fingers and holding tight. His heart was in just throats and it seemed that death would great them any moment now. If this was his last moment, this was one small but nice thing to bring light to everything else.

waldenborn

It only registered that he subconsciously sought comfort in someone's hand when he felt the tender action of slowly intertwining fingers. Immediately, his gaze shot down towards where his hand was, finding someone else's palm emitted warmth onto his own. His eyes followed up along the wrist, the arm, the shoulder, until he found the stranger's eyes   --   or rather, his first ever ocean. Blue as he imagined skies, accompanied with a much distracting blonde locks as if gold held no meaning to the other. Clenching his teeth together, Helo debated on retracting his hand away. But the other didn't jerk his own touch from Helo, and if this was their last moment, then dammit if Helo was going to spend it alone. Instead, helo gave the other's hand a gentle squeeze.

Rainkilled

When the crash hit, Peter was certain that they were dead. His eyes squeezed shut as tight as they could and he prayed for it to be over. But it felt like the moment of impact itself lasted forever. Like maybe they bounced or rolled, he wasn't sure, but they hadn't come to a full stop yet. Those who'd unbuckled were slamming into walls. Without even a moments thought, Peters head turned and ducked into his neighbors shoulder. A brash move for a stranger, certainly, and yet he was so frightened that he never considered that it might not be okay. His forhead rested in the crevasse of others neck, hand still holding his tightly as they finally came to a stop.

waldenborn

If it wasn't earth that killed them, then it had to be the impact. And Helo couldn't tell which one he wanted more: abrupt when they crash landed on earth or slowly with the toxic air that earth must harbor. The rough ride of reentering atmosphere made the dropship quake, jolt the kids around within their seat, and subconsciously caused Helo to give his neighbor's hand a squeeze. Just as a body was thrown about the dropship violently, Helo almost thought that the now deceased body slammed against him, but when he ducked his head down, he found it was the one he was holding hands with. It felt like hours before they finally landed and inevitably came to a halt  --  and they were still alive. Helo gave the other's hand another squeeze, and murmured, "Hey, I think we landed."

Rainkilled

He felt them come to a standstill and yet he didn't move until the boy's voice rang in his ears. It was softer than he'd expected. He didn't seem to be particularly put off by Peters closeness. Slowly, Peter lifted his head from the crook of the boy's neck and looked around. Everyone was unbuckling. And with one hand, the one not holding his neighbors, he unbuckled too, slowly standing up and looking around. Maybe now would be the time to let go, but he didn't. And then the argument about the door began. And Peter still didn't let go, now taking a half step beck, almost behind Helo, fingers gripping his as he damn near cowered in fear of what might be out there

waldenborn

Any other rational person would let go by now, they were on the ground and safe   .  .  .    so far. That was probably why Helo allowed them to continue holding hands even when they were free from the confines of the straps that kept them in place on the seats: if the doors opened and they were to die, he didn't want to die alone. He wasn't aware of it, but there were a handful of eyes surrounding them that noted their hands, taking a leap in their heads and assuming they were already a couple who managed to get locked up together. However, Helo's attention was focused on the door that everyone was flooding by, even moving to stand even further in front of the over protectively - as if instinct.

Rainkilled

When the door opened, Peter felt frozen. Everyone else went running out, laughing and dancing. But Peter was stuck. He was staring ahead, eyes wide as he took in only what he could see through the square entrance of the dropship. And he was frowning. Fear was lacing his face. They had no possible way of knowing what horrors were past that door. He wasn't sure how long he even stood there like that. He wasn't processing anything at all. And when he finally pulled it together, the first thing the he did process was fingers still laced with his. The tall frame of the stranger standing near him, honey colored eyes watching him as he opened his mouth and no words came out.

waldenborn

Helo was like the other, staying behind as they watched the others flood out of the dropship with child like excitement, their hollers fading from echoing within the metal barricade of the dropship to suffocating within the warm air Helo felt dust across his features. When the other came into view, though, Helo noted that they, still, were hold hands. Dropping his gaze down to their intertwined digits, Helo soon leisurely dropped his touch from within the stranger's. "Sorry.." Helo mumbled, as if he had to apologize for grabbing his hand out of no where like that.

Rainkilled

Peter felt an emptiness draw across him as his hand was dropped. He didn't like it. "Wait!' He exclaimed, reaching back for the hand that had just been pulled from his. "We--" He swallowed. "We gotta go out there..." His eyes begged Helo to let the hand holding continue. It was weird, Helo had initiated it, but Peter was desperate not to let it end. "Together?" He asked, looking up softly, almost sinking into the side of the boy he'd only just met. He didn't even know his name yet, but somehow, it felt safe.

waldenborn

Just as their hands parted, Helo felt the warmth of the other palm envelope over his own yet again. Funnily enough, it was like his hand found it's home yet again, relaxing beneath the touch of the stranger's. It was impossible to find that level of comfort in someone so soon, right? Helo nodded his chin at the question. "Together." At this point, they were the last remaining tucked within the dropship while the other delinquents were cheering, yelling, moving about outside. However, instead of pivoting his foot and moving his gait forward, Helo turned to the other and offered a soft smile. "I'm Helo, by the way."

Rainkilled

"Peter." He responded, meeting Helo's smile with his own. His eyes scanned the outside one more time and then, as if in step together, they both moved forward. His feet hit the dirt and he looked around, feeling wind on his face, a gasp leaving his lips. He didnt let go of Helo's hand as he crouched down to run his opposite hand through some blades of grass. He looked up at the taller boy, grin widening. "Earth." Was all he said- but it was enough.

waldenborn

Helo wasn't far, feeling the soft soil of the earth beneath his boots, and the fresh air hit his lungs, making his body weep in starvation. He didn't realize how much his anatomy craved for such crisp air until that moment, sweet on his tongue. The other delinquents were cheering, laughing, smiling  --  they weren't dying. This caused Helo's smile to blossom even further on his face as he turned his features back towards Peter, seeing a mirrored grin upon the other features. "Earth," Helo repeated back, as if to confirm that they were really there, and they were alive. It was habitable.

Rainkilled

He didn't have a clue what came over him. Maybe it was unbridled joy and happiness taking control. But as he stood back he, the hand still linked with Helo pulled gently, pulling their bodies closer and closing the distance. He took but a milisecond to let his eyes scan the boys face before he kissed him, giddy laughter on his lips.  When he pulled back he let his own thumb ghost over his still laughing lips, but now he was a little flushed to go with it. "Sorry that was--" He shook his head. "Sorry." But the grin and the laugh never really faded

waldenborn

Much like the other kids, laughter bubbled off of the two's lips, wide upward curl of their lips as bright eyes marveled at the sight surrounding them. Helo must've been dreaming. He had to be. But the contact of the kiss surprised him and reassured him that this was real  --  he was here. Brows shot sky high, into his hairline, before he felt the sweet air replace Peter's lips. Perhaps it was the thrill of still being alive, or being on earth, or both  --  but Helo found himself reciprocating the smile and fisted his hand within Peter's shirt to pull him back and pressed another kiss against his lips.

Rainkilled

When Helo's fists curls int his shirt, he thought for a brief moment it would be to shove him back, that he'd crossed a line. But instead he was being dragged back up, lips meeting again, both smiling and laughing into into. It was incredible. The kiss was full off happiness and joy and the small breaks for air were so filled with melodic giggles. His arms reached up, snaking around Helo until his elbows rested on his shoulders. It didn't matter that they barely knew each other. It didn't matter that other people were watching. They were on the ground.

waldenborn

They weren't the only ones kissing, the adrenaline of survival blossoming within their veins. Helo apologized mentally for Peter as he knew that the other's brims kept pressing against his teeth,  beaming and smiling and erupting chuckles between kisses. Peter kept kissing Helo's smile, and he couldn't help it. They were alive! They were on the ground! It was almost too good to be true.

Rainkilled

When finally they pulled away, it had been....too long. Longer than was probably normal for an average excited kiss. But he couldn't help it, and the other boy didn't seem interested in stopping either. As their lips finally seperated, he clapped his hand on the tall boys chest excitedly. "Come on." He said, taking his hand and just running. To where, he didn't know. Just through the surrounding trees, taking in everything.

waldenborn

Helo followed close behind, unable to hide back the smile that now took root on his boyish features. But something caused him to stop in his tracks, pulling Peter to halt his steps as well. Brows shot to his hairline, disappearing behind his bangs, and his hues rested on the leaves in the trees. A hand shot up to rest upon Peter’s chest as means to help his balance due to the abrupt stop in their sprint. “Wait, listen,” Helo whispered before Peter could ask. And just like that, louder than the cheers of the delinquents back at the dropship, a bird’s harmonious chirping filled the air.

Rainkilled

"Oh my god...." Peter listened, his eyes looking around in complete wonder. "Those---Those are birds." He whispered. Listening to the soft melodic sound. He couldn't imagine a moment happier than this. This sound in his ears would be what he remembered about the ground forever. And then-- "Oh my god" Less dreamy and more aware. "Those are birds" He said again, more forcefully. "There are animals...." His eyes darted up to Helo's face. "We...We can survive down here."

waldenborn

A part of him was still uncertain. They lived in space for years and became genetically engineered to survive such environment. Perhaps it was the same for these animals, but he couldn’t help that smile on the other’s face. The relief that poured over him. Help nodded his head, eyes returning Peter’s gaze, his smile never faltering. “Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

Rainkilled

For the first time, Peter took a minute, smiling up at Helo, to really appreciate how handsome he was. It felt like his breath had been stolen from his chest. He stepped back into Helo's space, this time moving slowly. This time there was time for either of them to stop it. But it didn't happen. And his lips pressed to Helo's,  standing on his toes to seem just a little bigger. And as they kissed and the birds sang and wind blew, it felt unreal And then a musical, soft laugh came from the trees behind him. Followed quickly by a judgemental scoff. And he broke from Helo's lips, jaw dropped for a minute. Because both of those sounds were familiar. And then-- "Get a room, Colton." "Peter did I miss something?" He grinned up at Helo. "Don't freak, it's cool. Just....Don't leave. Give me a minute." His back turned on Helo just in time to see Bree and Roma, holding hands, come forward. He ran towards them, The three of them sharing one large hug and many tears. "Guys. This is Helo." He introduced, gesturing for Helo to come closer.

waldenborn

When the kiss was interrupted, brows lifted sky high to his hairline, and he turned towards the voice with his hand that once ghosted Peter's jaw now hanging in the air. Gold oculars flitted between the two strangers, both curiosity and a glisten of hostility glossing his eyes. He doesn't mean to, nor does he understand, but when Peter moved away from his side with a welcoming smile, Helo was able to put two and two together and made the assumption that Peter knew them. Immediately, his taut muscles relaxed and his spine curled from it's momentarily stiff position. For a moment, Helo hesitated, unsure if he should introduce himself. But it was like his legs had a mind of it's own, and his boots pivoted upon the soft soil until he narrowed in on the three. "Hey," he mumbled sheepishly, one corner of his lips pulling higher than the other.

Rainkilled

The Look Bree was giving him was enough to make him flush entirely red. "Stop." He hissed, side stepping onto her foot purposefully. "This is my best friend, Bree. And this is her girlfriend Roma." He allowed a moment for them all to exchange pleasantries before kissed both girls on the tops of their heads. "They will be going now, right Breanna? His eyes met the blonde girls and it was pretty clear that he was sending the away, despite the fact that they both looked like they had no intentions of moving. "Bree." He hissed again, and finally with a very pointed look, she took Roma's hand and the two walked back in the direction they had come from

waldenborn

"Friends?" Helo guessed, shoving a finger towards the direction the two eventually disappeared off to. But his voice laden with amusement, obviously joking. It was clear that three of them were friends, potentially from the ark, and a part of Helo envied that. He thought that if they were to survive and somehow not die on the ground, then he would alone. That drastically changed before he even landed. "They seem nice."

Rainkilled

"Yeah Bree and I--" He cut off, looking up at Helo's face, registering the amusement. His face was already beat red thanks to Bree and Roma's pointed and curious looks. "Oh no way--" He laughed and shoved at Helo's chest pretty hard. "You are not laughing at me too!" His tone was jovial, but also exasperated and he shook his head looking away for a minute, smile still present as he listened to the birds. "Bree and I have been friends our whole lives. Roma too, but Roma and I really got closer when she and Bree started officially dating. Now the three of us are all kinda a package deal." He shrugged and leaned on a tree. "Oh my god." He put his head in his hands, the reality hitting him suddenly. "I thought I was gonna have to watch them die." He groaned. "Sorry, im-- I just am-- Having a moment."

waldenborn

"We all thought we were gonna die, Peter. I'm just more pissed off that the Chancellor thought that he could decide who was expendable and who wasn't." The words rang loud in his head. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable. Helo stiffened at the remembrance of his crime:  murder. His gaze cautiously glanced towards Peter, sudden worried about what he would say. He would have to keep it to himself for as long as he could  --  forever if he had anything to say about it. "But, hey, look at me." Helo stepped closer, a hand tugging slightly on the fabric of his shirt that peeked beneath his jacket, and his smile slowly blossomed back on his features, honey orbs peering down towards him through shaggy hair. "We're here. We're alive. Your friends are alive."

Rainkilled

"I dont care about that." He shook his head softly, looking up at Helo when he touched him again. "I dont care about me. It's them. I didn't want to watch Roma die. She's three days older than me. And I didn't want Bree to watch us both die." He shrugged. "I was never really afraid for myself. Not up there. I had accepted it. I was more afraid for them." His smile slowly bloomed back onto his face as he met Helo's eyes. They were stunning, and he had to stop himself from drowning in them. "We're alive." He repeated softly. Leaning off the tree and instead into Helo, resting his shoulder against the tall boys chest. "What a day..."

waldenborn

He watched as Peter moved from the tree and onto him, perfectly fitted against his chest as he ducked his head to peer down towards where Peter stood. At first glance, people might think that they were a couple ( holding hands, making out as soon as fresh air hit their lungs, holding hands some more ) but Helo didn’t care about that. Instead, he lifted a palm to rest against the lower half of Peter’s back gently. “So, Peter... How does it feel to be on the ground?” Helo asked with a hint of coy on his tongue. A brow arched, his smile not faltering, as means to half the fact sink in all the more: they were on the ground.

Rainkilled

"How does it feel...?" He exhaled the sentence, inhaling the earths warm breeze. It was the whole experiance.  The breeze on his skin, the birds in his ears, the way the trees looked so damn green. The sunlight. "It feels like I could get used to this." The ground? Or him? Both. "Its everything that I ever dreamed it would be and more." He was staring off, almost dreamy as he took his surroundings, trying to soak in everything that he could. "I could live in this moment for the rest of my life and be perfectly content."

waldenborn

Helo watched Peter for a moment longer, unable to conceal the simper wide on his features. Peter looked like he was in awe of the world and everything it had to offer for him, drinking in the way the crisp air smelled, tasted, felt against his skin. He didn’t notice it before, but in the sun ( and not the harsh lights of the dropship before they landed ) Peter looked almost tan. As though he already lived on the ground before him, and soaked in the rays before anyone else could have a chance to drink them in. He continued to look at Peter’s profile, before finally turning to the direction Peter faced. “It’s pretty great.”

Rainkilled

"Yeah..." He pressed his lips together, licking them softly, tongue just barely peeking through. He didn't really know what do from here. But then, maybe that was the point. Maybe none of them knew what to do. He looked at Helo again for a minute and resisted the urge to fit himself even tighter against his chest, snuggling in. Helo was still a stranger, and he didn't want to push too hard and make thing weird. It almost made him laugh. As if things weren't already weird. "We should go claim tents." He finally sighed. "While they're all distracted, before things calm down and get chaotic. Which..they will."

waldenborn

He never imagined air to taste like anything, but this did:  sweet. Like how he imagined sweet, tart candies would be upon his tastebuds, too foreign for his own good. And the warmth that the sun shrouded upon them was unlike feeling it seep inside the metal hallways from the window overlooking the ground. And the smells  --  oh the smells. He imagined this was incomparable, not even Farm Station could replicate the smell of fresh plants that has been growing since before he was born. "Yeah, we should get tents," Helo replied, but mind far too drunk on the moment to comprehend snagging a tent before none would be left behind for him.

Rainkilled

Peter hummed softly and then looked up at Helo, one hand in his giving a soft squeeze. "I'm gonna go do that." he nodded, letting his hand fall and putting space between them, walking off through the woods. He paused to glance over his shoulder at the boy, tongue darting out to lick his lips before he continued back towards camp.

[companionwolf]

ToE Chapter Two

He’s trying not to feel annoyed. He’s really trying, he is.

[[MORE]]

Central knows how easy it is to get caught by a purifier patrol and become stuck between Lost and a hard place as the ADVENT units call in backup, and yet as he leans out from the corner of a crumbling building, his chest burns with irritation as he sweeps his gaze across the AO.

It’s a few blocks down, where the main street going forward is cut off by an overturned truck. He can make out the forms of Reapers stationed on top, hear the pop of their guns as they fight off the waves of shambling zombies that come from either direction.

Somewhere above him he hears the knock of Kelly’s boots as she scrambles up a ladder onto a roof. Across the street, a solider named Peter crouches next to a storefront’s dull brick.

Central lifts his gun up and peers down the scope, nails a few of the Lost as they turn at the sound of Kelly dropping back onto the ground on the front side of the building she’s scaled. One of the faster ones who’s avoided the Reapers’ gunfire makes a break down the road at her, only to be felled by Peter.

All things considered, he thinks, they’re doing pretty good.

The sweater, silent until now, speaks up.

what’s wrong with them?

“What do you mean?” he mumbles, as softly as he can.

the humans you’re shooting.

Central grimaces. “They’re not people,” he says, pauses to take a shot as a new pod of Lost come around the corner, hisses between his teeth as he misses.

but they look like it.

He feels curiosity and sadness from the garment, tries to ignore the cold stone it sets in his stomach. “They’re not,” he says. “Not anymore.”

The thought ‘because you failed’ flickers across his mind, and he cringes inwardly. The sweater sends the impression of a person shaking its head.

you didn’t fail.

“Arguable,” Central says, and falls quiet after that, because the guilt lodges itself in his throat. The sweater hums in his brain, and he feels it tighten about his wrists — attempts at comfort. He shakes his head.

Peter dashes up along the sidewalk, and Kelly follows behind; they make their way staggered behind each other, and he follows Kelly, ducking behind a long dead car halfway up the street. She takes cover near the front wheel of the automobile, and across and up Peter shelters behind a burned out streetlight.

The Reapers are making work of the rest of the group of Lost that appeared from around the corner, that throw themselves uselessly against the truck, and Central thinks perhaps that’s the last of them for a while.

can’t you fix them?

It sounds vaguely like something he might have said once when they understood so little about the aliens and how they worked, what things they could do. It makes his heart hurt. He swallows the sudden dryness in his mouth and shoots covering fire for Kelly as she slashes at a pair of Lost that come at her.

you haven’t tried.

“It’s not a matter of trying,” he says, quiet quiet. “And I’m not letting anything the Fog Pods have contaminated anywhere near the Avenger.”

The sweater considers this.

it’s still sad.

It is sad, he thinks. It’s massively sad. He’s seen the child sized Lost, he’s seen the bodies of parents curled around their kids, he’s —

“Central, watch out!”

He’s snapped back to reality just in time to yelp indistinctly and try to use his gun as a last ditch barrier as a Lost runs up on him, but it’s still too close, too close for anyone else to try and take it out without risking wounding him, and it’s going to bite him, he knows this and there is nothing he can do to stop it.

He waits, realizes he’s holding his breath. Realizes he’s squeezed his eyes shut. Realizes he’s still able to realize and isn’t distracted by pain like he should be.

Central opens his eyes.

The Lost is dead (again) on the asphalt, cut clean in two horizontally. Kelly is crouched in a duck, which she wasn’t in before, and is staring at him, mouth gaping, saying... something. He can’t hear over the blood roaring in his ears.

don’t let that happen again, says the sweater. I can’t do it again. not for a while. i think.

“Do what?” he asks weakly.

A image in his head: him, seizing up with the assault rifle a poor last effort, and then a purple ring of energy emitting from him, bursting out and felling the Lost along with slicing Peter’s streetlight in two and peeling off the top of the car he and Kelly are using for cover.

“What the hell?” he says.

“— what I’ve been saying! Central, when in the world did you get psionic abilities? And why didn’t you ever tell anybody?” Kelly sounds incredulous.

“I’m not psionic,” he answers.

“Then what was that?” asks Peter, gesturing wildly with a hand at the streetlight.

“I don’t... know?” he says, and it’s a weak answer.

“Is now really the time for self discovery?” calls a Reaper from atop the truck.

“Just give us a second!” Kelly calls back, and walks over to him. She glances him over, brow knitted. “Well, it didn’t get you, so I guess we should be grateful for whatever it is that just happened,” she says.

“Yeah,” he says, “but let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t think whatever that was will happen again if...”

She nods, returns to her place near the front wheel. Peter is giving him a look, but his attention is drawn away as the Reapers climb down from the truck and approach.

The tallest of the Reapers cocks their head at Central, looks as if they’re about to speak, but the person to their left interrupts: “Tail us as we finish going home, and you will be rewarded.”

Kelly and Peter look to Central. He hesitates. “Can we know who we’re helping first?”

The tallest Reaper nods. “I’m Shad,” they say. They tip their head at the left Reaper. “That’s Molly.” Another tip of the head, to the right now. “That’s Roach.”

“Roach?” says Peter. “Why would you—“

“Be nice,” says Central. Peter grumbles something, but quiets.

The sweater emits confusion.

but he is right to be puzzled. they are not an insect. and humans don’t usually like insects.

“We’ll follow you,” he says to Molly, who nods silently and turns on her heels. Shad and Roach fall in step behind her, and Central starts after them.

He doesn’t hear Kelly behind him. He pauses, looks back. She and Peter are exchanging looks.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asks Central as she crosses the distance between them.

“The Reapers are friends; we’ll be welcome there,” he says.

Kelly shrugs. Peter looks unconvinced, but when he starts walking again, he hears both their footsteps follow him.

you didn’t answer my question.

The sweater sounds put out. Central offers the feeling of apology to it. “If I start talking to myself, it won’t look very good,” he murmurs under his breath.

you’ve always talked to us, it says, and he understands ‘us’ to be objects in general.

“Not where people can hear it,” he answers. “To answer your question, I think it’s a nickname.”

but why Roach?

He gets a sense of fear from the sweater. A sense of… something crawling, something chewing at the threads. The sensation is gone as quickly as it comes, almost as if the sweater is trying to hide its feelings, but it all clicks then.

“You think roaches eat sweaters?”

moths eat sweaters. moths are bugs. so is a roach.

“Not all bugs eat fabric,” he says, and he’s smiling. He mentally pats the sweater, which is making the internal telepathic equivalent of a child’s crossed arms and pout. “Don’t worry about it; they won’t eat you.”

i am too strong to be eaten by a human, or a moth, or a roach! i am an artifact of power

“Right,” he says, a snort of laughter escaping him, and the mirth stays in his chest all the way to the Reaper’s rooftop camp.

[trashpandaorigins]

Halfworld Reckoning 89 Ch 5

You saw my pain, washed out in the rain, broken glass, saw the blood run from my veins but you saw no fault no cracks in my heart and you knelt beside my hope torn apart, but the ghosts that we knew will flicker from you. And we’ll live a long life. So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light. ‘Cause oh that gave me such a fright, but I will hold as long as you like just promise me we’ll be alright.” –Ghosts that We Knew Mumford & Sons

The false air threatened to suffocate him. Groot slid his cumbersome form down the hallway.

“I do not like this plan,” Drax smoldered. “We should destroy those who hurt our furry friend!” Groot clenched his fists. If Drax kept this up much longer someone would hear them again.

“Shh Drax!” Gamora snapped, slinking up beside him, sword out but held so that it would not scrape against the floor. Groot continued, feeling for any vibrations with his vines outstretched, glad Gamora had said something. He’d learned quickly that if he stayed quiet, often someone else would speak up instead, for better or worse. The lights flickered once more and Groot’s vines rounded around another corner.

“Anything?” Peter asked.

“I am Groot,” He shook his head. His throat constricted once more with the sterile air, fogging his ability to perceive the drones, or guards or the security doors. Something…coming…down the…

“Ahh!” Quill screamed and Groot jolted as the plasma beam shot past his right shoulder, striking a guardswoman who had turned around the corner. Her gun lay beside her,

“I am Groot!” He darted out several vines as Drax walked briskly past and crouched down, picking up her gun and cocking it. “I am Groot!” He whipped his vine, striking upward and knocking the gun from the Destroyer’s hold. “I am Groot!!” Drax’s eyes narrowed, mucles tensed, but he’d already explained to them-after many tiresome repetitions and gesturing and emphasis with body language that it would be better to sneak in and get Rocket, rather than barging in guns blazing. They’d be far out armed and outnumbered. While his best friend preferred the later approach, Groot was sure that was not the way to do things.

“Dumb Tree! How are we supposed to…?!” There was no time to answer as red light flooded the previously white hall, a blast of noise penetrated Groot’s ears exploded with sound. Eyes squeezed shut as he heard Gamora give a grunt and the familiar slice of metal through living matter. Rocket….Groot felt as Drax shouted something in his face he could not discern, a strong toned arm looping around his torso and yanking him around the corner and down the hall. Rocket….Groot reached out, closing his eyes. He could feel him….the pounding heart, adrenaline surging through his tiny form.

“Groot get down!” Blindly Groot let loose his vines, studded with thorns, knocking out four drones as bullets tore through his bark. Rocket….the World Pod in Groot’s own chest churned, feeling that life source so fueled with terror.

“I AM GROOT!” Groot roared, summoning that feeling through his vines, rushing towards that energy of his friend, crashing through another set of heavy doors, he growled as his bark split against the heavy metal doors.

“Groot! Groot slow down!” Quill shouted and cursed as a guard shoved him down, punched him, Groot winced hearing the break of bone but Rocket….the force within Groot moved him forward, past the searing pain of his chest. Gamora’s sword downed a drone as it soared over Groot’s head, guns rifling off. Glass shattered as they crashed through another room. Strange smells of sulfur stung his nose. Rocket…terror…lights…air without oxygen. Groot’s legs strode, kicking down anything that stood in his way. Rocket…Rocket…Ro… he halted in the cross section of a hallway, the red alarm firing off. Panic, the Flora colossus swallowed trying to ease down the panic.

“I am Groot!” He shouted, charging into another several guards people vines reaching out desperately for any emotion that could be felt coming from Rocket. Nothing. Groot huffed for breath, the white and red of the hallway lights dimming, he felt himself slide forward, the tears in his bark stung.

“Groot! This way!” He followed Gamora, feeling her heart hammer urgently and sucked a large breath, hoping for air.

“There’s a lock on this one too!” Peter cried, fumbling with the data pad. “Operation…this has to be it but…” Groot didn’t hear the rest, “I AM GROOT!” One thing kept him from collapsing in burning agony, shattering through the doors with every fiber of his being, sending his arms shooting outward through the metal. Groot rammed through, eyes searching for that brown grey fur. Behind him Gamora, Peter and Drax easily entered through the hole the tree man created.

“Let him go or we’ll…” they halted. Red smattered the walls, contraptions Groot had no name for sparked and fizzled. Groot searched, stumbling and glanced down, the body beneath him hissed and Groot stumbled backward, the body didn’t hiss at him…Rocket did. Groot stared down, the raccoonoid snarled, strange white foam dripping from his mouth.

“Rocket!” Peter panted, “C’mon we gotta go!” Rocket snarled, tearing at the fleshy red shoulder of the fallen scientist. “Rocket?!” Groot’s heart dropped, he reached out, a long vine snaking forward…if he could just reach out to the raccoonoid…he could calm him. He could always calm Rocket, or anyone else. That had always been his purpose in this dark, dank universe, he’d sworn to himself the day Planet X and his people were destroyed that he would always stand as a beacon of love…granted it was hard but he did his best.

“I am Groot,” Groot whispered, meeting his best friend’s strangely distant black eyes. The vine moved close going to touch Rocket’s claws. “I am…” small but sharp fangs bit down, cracking his vines as Rocket’s ears pinned back against his skull and the creature scrambled off his kill, through the wrecked maylay of the operating room and out the crushed doors. “I…I am Groot….?”

“I don’t know…” Peter breathed, “but we’re going to find out.” Groot didn’t need to find out…he knew and it shattered him. He was too late, Rocket as he knew him was gone.

—

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: ENDGAME !!

STAGE II | PART II ( destiny is fulfilled ) → MORAG: 2014. arriving on morag, it was up to james rhodes & nebula to find the power stone before an outlaw idiot named peter quill did. while they found the stone, they also found that they weren’t the only ones there looking for it and a trio familiar face meant trouble.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL COMPLETE CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

M O R A G : 2 0 1 4

NATASHA: They had done it. They had actually done it. Although the day had yet to be saved the fact that the Quantum technology had worked was something that Natasha could barely comprehend. For years she had been sitting, waiting and planning for that special something that would tip the scales and now they had it. The ship vibrating under them, Natasha helped Clint ease the space ship ( her - the kgb spy - was piloting a spaceship ) to the ground where it made a loud thud as it connected to Morag. As the doors hissed open she followed Rhodey and Clint out onto the planet to make sure that they were ready.

RHODEY: Rhodey craned his neck as he watched Nebula ease the pod they would be using to the ground. “Good, Blue. Drop it down. Yeah, mhm. To the left. Line it up on the line. Down, down.” He coached.

NATASHA: Kicking at a weird alien creature that was running around, Natasha cracked a smile at where Rhodey was. “C’mon, guys. Chop chop. We’re on the clock.”

RHODEY: “All that? Really helpful.”

NEBULA: After Nebula finished programming the coordinates for Natasha and Clint, she proceeded to join them and Rhodey on the surface. Her first steps onto Morag left her feeling tense, even as her teammates joked around and prepared to split ways for the mission. “The coordinates for Vormir are set.” She let them know, standing off to the side. “All you have to do is not fall out.”

NATASHA: Reaching out to hug Rhodey, Natasha pulled him close. “Take care, okay?” She would have hugged Nebula but it didn’t seem right. She settled instead for a smile and a nod.

RHODEY: Saying goodbye to Nat and Clint wasn’t as hard as he thought. They had a job to do and so did he and Nebula. They’d have time for sentimentals when it was all over. “Go get that Stone, okay? No messing around.” If anyone could do it, it would be the two who were once Strike Team Delta. Nat and Clint knew how to take care of each other. “Hey, watch each others six.” He tacked on at the end.

CLINT: Clint followed behind, giving Rhodey a nod of affirmation in lieu of a goodbye, “Hey– you got this.” He wasn’t entirely familiar with Nebula, nor was he aware of her trustworthiness as of yet, but she seemed to have a pretty steady blue head on her shoulders. With that observation, he stepped onto the ship with Natasha.

NEBULA: Nebula had been with these people for years now. She cared for them, in her own way. Being a part of a team wasn’t ever something she thought possible, but here she was. And even though Nebula kept things short and to the point, she hoped that they all knew how she felt. Natasha’s nod was enough, and Nebula gave her one back. Every time she thought about the place Nat and Clint were going, her stomach flipped. None of this was easy, but she was grateful that it wasn’t her going to Vormir. Her sister was murdered on that planet. It would have been difficult to set foot in that place, even if at this time, that horrible thing hadn’t happened yet. After the ship had taken off everything went quiet, and Nebula was a bit lost in thought.

RHODEY: Believe it or not, Rhodey had gotten decently close with Nebula over the past few years. She’d crack a joke, he’d laugh. Vice versa. It was nice but neither were super over the top about being friends. Rhodey could respect, and the silence between the two was far from uncomfortable. He took a few steps as he looked around. “--’kay, so, uh, we just wait for this Quill guy to show up and then he leads us to the Power Stone. Is that it?”

NEBULA: Nebula was clearly uneasy. She looked to Rhodey, trying to hide the obvious anxiety on her face and failing. “We should take cover–” She turned her back to him, taking a few steps, aimlessly looking for a hiding spot. “We aren’t the only ones in 2014 looking for the stone.”

RHODEY: They weren’t the only — “Wait, wait, wait. What? Who else is lookin’ for these Stones?” Rhodey moved closer to Nebula even though she still faced away. It should have just been them and the idiot Quill. That’s it. Morag wasn’t exactly a populated planet.

NEBULA: “My father. My sister. And.. me.” Maybe she should have said something sooner, said something to the team before they all left. But it wouldn’t have changed their plans.

RHODEY: And it got weirder. “And you?” His voice was hesitant. Skeptical. “Where are you right now?”

NEBULA: “Most likely, my sister and I have been called back to our father’s ship by now.” Nebula recounted that day. “When he heard word of the Power Stone’s location, he sent us to a ship run by a man named Ronan. It’s the start of how we come in contact with Quill. But we should hide now.” She changed the subject quickly, ducking behind something nearby and waiting for Rhodey to follow.

RHODEY: Once they were in position, Rhodey crouched down beside Nebula. The arrival of Quill wasn’t hard to miss. Nebula’s psuedo brother-in-law was singing and dancing around. Rhodey bobbed his head, trying not to be judgmental. He failed. “So, he’s an idiot.” It was a statement and not a question.

QUILL: Bounty hunters – or as he liked to refer to himself: a rare item aquiree. No death, not much at least, and if anything, Quill was more of a booty hunter, if you got his gist. Settling his foam padded headphones over his ears, he set his cassette tape to play and as a late era symphony played in his ears (aka Come and Get Your Love by Redbone) Quill meandered his way across the empty landscape. Of course, he had a tune to his step, and a song in his voice, but he usually lacked any sense of shame when no one was around to look. Besides, with his notoriety, anyone showing up would recognize him for what he was: a legendary outlaw. As the chorus hit, he spun in a wide circle, catching himself just at the end where he went into a tune-filled slide, only to collide with the tough metal of a —

RHODEY: One arm extended was all it took. The head of the space pirate? thief? idiot? connected solidly with the sturdy arm of the War Machine armor and he was instantly knocked out cold. Rhodey watched Nebula dig around his bag for a long minute. “What’s that?” He finally asked.

NEBULA: Once Nebula found what she was looking for, she stood up and held it in front of her while a small bit of relief washed over her. “The tool of a thief.” She gave Rhodey a nod and then headed over to the run down building where the stone was hiding. At the entrance she used the Quill’s tool and opened it with ease, and even while the doors were still sliding open she took a step forward to make her way inside.

RHODEY: Seemed useful. As Nebula used it to open the door, Rhodey watched the stone and metal slowly reveal the interior chamber where the orb was being hung in the middle of the room. As soon as she was moving, Rhodey shot out an arm to grab hers. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is the part, y’know, where spikes come out with skeletons on the end of them and everything.” He made a gesture.

NEBULA: Rhodey’s attempt to stop her from going in wasn’t forceful, but she paused nonetheless. As he explained his reasoning, her normally straightforward expression hinted towards disbelief at the ridiculousness he was spouting. “What are you talking about–?” But she knew his answer would be even more ridiculous, so she turned away from him with a small shake of her head and entered the ruins anyway, hoping he would drop his monologue and follow her in. It was dark in the chamber, the only sources of light being the one Rhodey held in front of him and the energy field protecting the stone. Nebula took a brief second to look over the cage it was held in and then reached forward with her left arm, the one made completely from inorganic materials. Her hand seethed as it passed through the energy shield, glowing a bright orange as it began to burn and melt away. But there was no indication that it caused her any pain, and within moments she had grabbed the orb containing the stone and pulled it out. Her arm was damaged, still glowing from the heat, smoke curling up and away as it cooled. She turned and dropped the orb in Rhodey’s hand before inspecting herself, seemingly unaffected by what she had just done. She had felt the heat, felt part of herself quite literally burn away, but it wasn’t the same as before. These parts of her would forever be different, a reminder that she wasn’t whole. But as Rhodey’s gaze stayed glued to her, Nebula was forced to look away. “I wasn’t always like this.” She whispered, almost ashamed that she had let him see her like this.

RHODEY “–When you walk into a place called The Temple of the Power Stone there’s gotta be a bunch of booby traps.” Nebula kept walking though and Rhodey couldn’t help but shake his head. “…Okay then. Alright. Go ahead.” Walking behind her with his light held over his head, Rhodey paused and watched Nebula grab the orb even as her arm seemed to burn down to the metal frame. There was something intense about Nebula. Anyone who met her could see that and the still steaming orb dropped into Rhodey’s armored hand as her own smoldering was a sign of that. He watched her as she stared at her own hand, the fire singed appendages dangling in the air between them and he felt – No, not pity. He didn’t pity her because he didn’t think she wanted to be pitied. But he felt something. Maybe a remorse that someone had taken her and warped her into something she didn’t seem to know. At her motion his eyes snapped up to her face. When she spoke his gaze dropped to the floor, lips tucked in against one another. “Neither was I.” He admitted, voice low and devoid of bravado. For someone who had always known who he was and what he wanted it was hard. It was hard to wake up and feel the stillness of his own legs. It was hard to take them off at night knowing what was going to happen as soon as sleep cleared his mind. He had fought a war knowing what the risks and outcome could be but it was still hard to look down and realize that the only way he could walk was because of a gift that Tony had given him. A gift, from a friend who had started a war that Rhodey had jumped headfirst into. He always had. War was something he had learned. It was coded into him, he was a soldier and that’s why he believed it when he said “But we gotta work with what we’ve got.” The two made eye contact then, a moment coming and going. There they were: two people outside of their time with bodies outside of their control. “Let’s go.” He broke the silence. Snapping on his Quantum traveler, the white suit covered the War Machine armor. “Three, two, one…” And with that, Rhodey was gone as he fell into the Quantum Realm and was yanked back towards the present.

NEBULA (2014): As Rhodey and Nebula did what they needed to do on Morag, the Nebula that belonged in 2014 had her own business to attend to. The fight was beginning to get on her nerves– they should have finished this ages ago. And it was from that frustration that Nebula reared up with a scream, lunging for the closest adversary and swiping with the blades she held in each hand. She landed one final blow, but it distracted her from the grenade that landed next to her, and when it went off it sent her flying back. Another much larger alien approached her as she sat there stunned, and for a moment there was fear in her eyes. But before she even had a chance to move, the enemy in front of her was sent flying up and into the energy stream behind her. Just in time. It was Gamora who had saved her skin, of course. Was Nebula surprised? No. But it made her blood boil, and she let out a groan as her sister approached her. ”I could have handled that.”

GAMORA (2014): Another day, another mess to clean up. Or, as Gamora had thought about it: another day in hell. Whatever fight they were engaging in was not one that she was interested in. They letted blood on Thanos’ word alone and that was the law. The way things were supposed to be. For as long as she had known Nebula ( which had been most of her life at this point ) Gamora had gone head to head with her sister and come out victorious each time. Even when they weren’t sparring with one another Gamora had fallen into the routine or besting her and after listening to Nebula’s childlike scream and near fatal failure, Gamora intercepted with a shout of her own as her sword quickly felled the one who almost dispatched Nebula. A part of her looked at the blue alien sitting in front of her and wanted to smack her in the face for being so caught up in Thanos’ games. If Nebula hadn’t been so eager to please one who already saw her as a tool alone maybe they could have gotten somewhere. Emerging from the smoke, Gamora sighed and sheathed her weapon as she moved to pace around her sister. “You’re welcome.” Her tone was smug but tired. This had happened too many times. Even then as Nebula groaned Gamora knew she couldn’t let her die. They were sisters who seemed to hate each other, but sisters all the same. “Except, you needed me to.” She proffered a hand then and didn’t flinch when Nebula smacked it away. “Get up. Father wants us back on the ship.” She paused, dreading the next words. “He’s found an Infinity Stone.”

NEBULA (2014): Nebula was still seething as Gamora gloated above her, so it took a moment for her words to sink in. The look she gave her sister was one of surprise– this was a moment they had been waiting for, one that she thought might never come. But now it had. She followed Gamora back onto their father’s ship which was in orbit, and once they were situated Nebula’s curiosity got the best of her. “So father’s plan is finally in motion.. Where is the stone?”

GAMORA (2014): The ride on the Q-Ship back to Thanos’ behemoth of a craft was silent and tense but Gamora wouldn’t have expected any less. They didn’t have long until their father arrived and they had to be on the same page. “On a planet called Morag.” Gamora was walking around the holographic projection that hung in the air.  “One Stone isn’t six, Nebula.” She was quick to correct her sister with a glare and hands planted firmly on her hips. Gamora had to revel in that fact. Even if Thanos had one there was still five chances that Gamora had to keep him from achieving his goal. One of those chances was hidden away so far only she knew where it was. Vormir: a god forsaken planet that was a hidden blessing. For now though, they had to focus on Morag and what was there.

NEBULA (2014): “It’s a start.” Nebula felt it was important to note that. She could tell that her sister felt strongly about all this– she was more hesitant, more impacted by the news than Nebula was. But now she could almost understand where her sister was coming from. “If he gets all six stones..” In the end, Nebula would always be more afraid of punishment than what their father would do to the rest of the galaxy. And her train of thought was interrupted as the Titan arrived onboard.

THANOS (2014): In a flash of bright light, Thanos was transported up to his ship. Once he arrived, he stepped out of the light and towards his daughters. They were waiting for him, just as he requested, and as he wiped his blade clean with a cloth he made his way over to them. “Ronan has located the Power Stone.” He informed them. “I’m dispatching you both to his ship, immediately.”

GAMORA (2014): As soon as it became apparent that Thanos was arriving both warriors quickly turned to face the blinding light. “He won’t like that.” Gamora tucked her arms behind her back, head bowing slightly in her fathers presence.

THANOS (2014): “His alternative is death.” It was a statement of pure fact, one that Thanos knew he wouldn’t have to say twice. As he walked he tossed the bloodied cloth aside. “Ronan’s obsession clouds his judgement.”

NEBULA (2014): As Thanos approached, Nebula held her head up high and straightened her back. She moved forward, placing herself in front of Gamora before bowing allegiance to him. “We will not fail you, father.”

THANOS (2014): “No, you won’t.” Thanos looked down at her, both proud of her dedication and annoyed at her over-eagerness to prove herself.

NEBULA (2014): “I swear I will make you proud.” Nebula stood up, looking her father right in the eyes before she stumbled backwards, holding her face as pain shot through her. The implants in her skull burned and crackled, setting off sparks. As she crumpled to the ground, she desperately tried to make it stop by hitting herself, but instead it brought forward a projection. 2023 Nebula would have recognized him as Rhodes, but this Nebula had no idea who this was. ’So what, we just wait around for this Quill guy to show up, and then he leads us to the Power Stone, is that it?’ And Nebula swore she heard her own voice answer the stranger, but she couldn’t be sure. She smacked her implants again and the projection disappeared, leaving her shaking and gasping for air. Luckily, the pain began to dissipate.

GAMORA (2014): She was being ridiculous. Gamora didn’t even bother to conceal her eye roll as she watched Nebula drop to a knee and suck up to their father. It wasn’t good enough. No matter what she did Thanos would never favor her. It was cruel but that was how it was. When Nebula pitched to the side in pain she was quick to drop down next to her and grip the partially metal skin to see if she was okay. Gamora had hurt Nebula but she still did not like to see her in pain. Watching the recording in confusion Gamora leaned closer when it shut off. “Who was that?” Her tone was urgent to hide the concern.

NEBULA (2014): “I don’t know–” Nebula’s voice was barely at a whisper, and it was shaking. “But my head is splitting. I don’t– I don’t know–” She was panicking now. There was no room for malfunctions, especially not now. She was afraid of being ripped apart for scrap metal.

GAMORA (2014): This was bad. This was very bad. She would beat Nebula in combat when required to stay alive and stop Thanos from experimenting on her any more than he already had. The silver etching over green skin was a sign that she hadn’t always pleased him despite her wins, but she didn’t wish to see Nebula in pain and she definitely didn’t wish to see her stripped and discarded by Thanos into basic spare parts. He was likely cruel enough to melt that metal down, create a weapon and force her sister to carry the remains. Gamora kept her fear tucked away just like always as she confidently stood to her feet and faced their Father. If Nebula were to make it, she would have to be brisk. Professional. Thanos needed to be assuaged. “Her synaptic drive must have have been damaged in battle.” Despite it looking like a change in posture, Gamora was deliberate as she sidestepped in front of Nebula to use her body as a wall against the looming form of their father.

THANOS (2014): Thanos didn’t even look to Gamora as he stepped forward. What was happening to Nebula was curious-- perhaps she would be scrapped by the end of the day if this problem persisted, but she was still of use to him at the moment. The stranger mentioned the Power Stone, which couldn’t have been a coincidence. And if he was to secure this stone, he needed every advantage he could get. When he reached his daughter Thanos lifted his blade and placed in underneath his chin. The cold metal was close enough to her throat to make her feel uncomfortable, and he noted how much she was shaking as he forced her to look up at him. She was still weak-- a scared child. But there was something insider her head that he needed. “Bring her to my ship.”

GAMORA (2014): All she could do was step to the side as Thanos approached, dark eyes darting back and forth from the blade that the Titan used to push Nebula’s head upwards to the frightened look on her sisters face. it would have been easy for Thanos to end it there but instead his words were daunting. Daunting but not final. There was a chance they could turn it around. Bending down, Gamora grabbed Nebula and roughly dragged her to her feet. The force was in place only in case the other daughter of Thanos resisted. The steps after that towards the pod were gentler. Gamora released her grip -- they had never really been ones to touch. If anything contact had been burned out of their memory by a cold and unrelenting father who saw his children as weapons. Gamora could vaguely remember her mothers hands but now Thanos’ haunted her dreams, tipping her chin up as he looked at her with something akin to a cruel pride. Still, she kept her arms tensed and ready in case Nebula should fall or stagger. To keep things composed was to have a better chance at ending this without Nebula disposed of. Once on this ship she watched as the Maw ( her least favorite of her siblings ) strung Nebula up in the air so she hung like a decoration.

EBONY MAW (2014): As always, it was an honor to serve. There was a prestige that had once existed among the Children of Thanos. The Maw remembered the days all too well. Korvus, Proxima, Cull and Himself had long thrived as the Black Order and the most trusted of Thanos’ offspring. The two girls that arrived with the Titan were ones Ebony Maw knew of but he was not impressed. The little Zehoberei, Gamora, he knew well. The Maw had walked the dirt poor ground of her planet while Thanos’ glorious purpose was achieved. He had observed her family die so she could ascend into another and she had never been grateful enough for the gift. Thanos favored her with a fervor that Ebony longed for himself and it was infuriating that one so young had gotten to grow up under the wise hand of Thanos. As for the other one, well... the  luphomoid had always sought to serve Thanos but her eagerness outweighed her skill. Now she was on display like a common jest and Ebony emerged from the shadows silently towards the command center that housed the technology they needed to examine her. Many times over the years had he watched in this position, stripped bare so Thanos could do as he please. Many times had the Maw observed, helped and listened to her screams with no twinge of remorse or pity. His hands were both efficient and effective as she powered the device and hooked it up to the right frequency so that a cable fell slowly towards her head.

THANOS (2014): Thanos took long steps around Nebula as she hung suspended in the center of the room. The Maw was off to the side, readying everything they needed to extract the information from Nebula’s memory. He stopped, tipping his head to the side as he observed his daughter for a moment, and then reached up to pull down the cord above him and connect Nebula to the ship’s systems. Once he clicked it into place, he let it go but stayed close. “Run diagnostics. Show me her memory file.”

NEBULA (2014): Nebula felt helpless. She found herself in this position more and more often as time went on, it seemed. But it never got easier. She felt like a feral animal, caged and chained up to be gawked at. There were only three people in the room with her but it felt like a thousand. When Thanos connected her to the ship, she let out a soft gasp but stifled it down, knowing that any emotional response would be ridiculed later.

EBONY MAW (2014): “Sire,” his hands were still moving as he processed the information. “The file seems to be tangled. It appears to be a memory but not hers. There’s another consciousness sharing her network.” How intriguing that was. Perhaps she should be torn apart to see what was going on. He broke his pause, “Another Nebula.” 

THANOS (2014): “Impossible.” Thanos gave Ebony Maw a puzzled glance, wondering if he could be mistaken.

EBONY MAW (2014): Oh, but it was apparently. “This duplicate carries a time stamp. From,” he hesitated, beady eyes squinting as he checked the information. “...Nine years in the future.”

THANOS (2014):  Fascinating. Even with the doubt he still felt, there was something intriguing about what was happening. It couldn’t be ignored, even if it turned out to be something other than what they expected. “And so where is this other Nebula?”

EBONY MAW (2014): The information was easy to access. “In our solar system. On Morag.” It seemed so convenient considering the size of the galaxy. The Zehoberei looked away from Nebula and the Maw wondered if it was because of the same disgust he felt.

THANOS (2014): The pieces were starting to fall into place. This was definitely not just a coincidence. “Can you access her?”

EBONY MAW (2014): “Yes.” He could do most anything Thanos asked. “It’s linked.”

THANOS: “Search the duplicate’s memories for Infinity Stones.”

EBONY MAW (2014): Ringed fingers danced over the images until Nebula’s head jerked upright like a puppet on a string. Which, in many ways, she was. The holograph began to project one confusing image after another as strange Terran’s walked around in discussion of the Stones. Thanos’ Stones, nonetheless.

NEBULA (2014): As the Maw weaved his way through her mind, Nebula did her best to stay still, not blink. When he found what he was looking for, her optic drive kicked back on and another projection appeared in front of her. This time it wasn’t just one person, but a whole group, Nebula didn’t recognize any of them. They spoke of the very stones Thanos had been chasing down. They were searching for them too.

THANOS (2014):  “Freeze image.” Thanos paused the memory, taking a step closer as he analyzed the faces he saw in the projection. There was something familiar about them.

GAMORA (2014): Moving almost under her sister that she could look up at what was bring displayed, Gamora’s face twisted in confusion. “Terran’s.” She knew of them but had never met any.  Instead, she knew what Thanos had told her about the Chitauri battle and the failure of the Asgardian. Terran’s stayed on their own planet and so they were ignored.

THANOS (2014):  ”Avengers.” Thanos spit out the words. “Unruly wretches. But--” He pointed to a spot on the projection. “What is this image in the reflection? Amplify it.”

GAMORA (2014): As the Maw flicked his wrist and did just so Gamora’s heart sunk into the pit of her stomach. These were Terran’s -- Avengers -- and there, reflected in the image, was Nebula’s exact likeness. “I don’t understand.” Her words were quiet. Eyes slowly moved from the one that was intangible to her actual sister who was hanging there. Gamora wanted to cut her down but she couldn’t. All she could do was try and make sense of what she was seeing. “Two Nebulas?” 

THANOS (2014): “No. The same Nebula-- from two different times.” Thanos corrected her. He turned to Maw. “Set course for Morag, and scan the duplicate’s memories. I want to see everything.”

NEBULA (2014): The Maw pulled up another memory from 2023 Nebula’s files. It sent a shock through 2014 Nebula, and she was forced to watch again as an image of her father appeared in front of them. He was.. Different. Worn down, half of his face covered in what looked like scars. Nebula thought that it was impossible for their father to be beaten. It came as a shock to see him like this. He spoke of the stones, said that he had used them and then.. destroyed them? It chilled her to the bone.

THANOS (2014): Thanos, on the other hand was fascinated. He was staring straight at himself, and while he appeared weak he could tell that it was after a long deserved victory. It did not trouble him. It only made him more eager.

GAMORA (2014): With their path now being traced, the clips continued on playing in the air in a horrible sequence. Thanos was burned, badly injured and rasping for breath. He was being asked where the Stones were and his next words stilled the blood in her veins: gone. All she wanted was for them to be forever out of reach but this didn’t look like it had been a happy ending. Unable to look away, Gamora listened to the twisted version of already twisted father as he explained the Stones had been used to eliminate themselves. Her eyes dropped at the mention of his work always being done. She knew that all too well. His words were pretentious bit she wouldn’t be permitted to say so. Instead Gamora stood with her hands folded behind her back, blank face trained on his burned one. “What did you do to them?”

THANOS (2014):  “Nothing. Not yet.” Thanos was calm, collected. More sure of himself than ever. “The Avengers aren’t trying to stop something from happening in our time. They’re trying to undo something I’ve already done in theirs.”

GAMORA (2014): “The Stones.” The words fell out in a whisper, breath catching and stopping them from being spoken at full volume.

THANOS (2014): Thanos turned to Gamora, a small smile on his face. There was a hint of admiration and softness across his expression, like he was glad his favorite daughter was here to share this moment with him. “I found them all.” He moved over and stood in front of her, his voice at almost a whisper as he glanced down at one daughter and ignored the other. “I won. Tipped the cosmic scales towards balance.” Then he reached out, gently brushed aside the magenta waves off of Gamora’s shoulder.

GAMORA (2014): She stood steadfast as he approached, not flinching despite the heavy tremors from his boots that reverberated from the ground and up her legs. Thanos was not affectionate. She had never seem him touch any other one of his children the way that he did her: gently. From the moment she had first laid eyes on him on that hateful day he had reached out to her. His thumb had dwarfed her entire hand but she had taken it and he had crouched beside her, shielding her eyes from the carnage with a gentle nudge back towards the gift he had given her. Back then Gamora had no idea how rare the Titan’s actions were, how different he was around her. Even though he had hurt her more than she could bear to remember there had always been a tenderness that rose bile in her throat. As his hand gently caressed the bottom of her face she was reminded all over again that the man who claimed to be her father was not so. Her father was dead, wiped out in a genocidal wave of violence with no real point. Unable to stop her skin from crawling she dropped to her knees, head bowed in what appeared to be reverence as she took a second to close her eyes and shake off the all too familiar wave of nausea that accompanied his toxic touch. 

EBONY MAW (2014): “This is your future.” His voice was reverent. It was a well deserved win for their savior. 

THANOS (2014): ”It’s my destiny.” He had always been sure of that. Then the memory began playing again, and it was Nebula’s voice that was heard. It was mere seconds before a blade came crashing down in view, and the Thanos from the old Nebula’s memory met his end. But he did not flinch, nor seem bothered by watching himself die.

NEBULA (2014): Nebula watched a foreign memory from her mind and what she hard made her sick. Her father was apologizing to her, admitting that after decades of mistreatment and torture that he had perhaps been too harsh on her. He couldn’t even say it for sure. In his final moments, there was no regret in his voice, only pity for the girl he took apart and spliced back together again. Watching him die left her feeling too much, and yet nothing at all.

GAMORA (2014): She remained postulant he spoke, but upon hearing Nebula refer to their father her head shot up with the disgust still evident on here face. The confusion overtook it as he seemed to almost compliment Nebula and then the unthinkable happened: Thanos was felled. His head was severed clean from his body in an act Gamora had only ever dreamed about as she jumped to her feet. It was what she wanted, but the confusion and conflicted feelings still thrummed through her. If Thanos had died and Nebula was there, Gamora wondered, where was she? Why had she not been there to help? If anyone wanted to kill Thanos it was her. Nebula had been so busy kissing his boots she never seemed to have any inkling to do so.

THANOS (2014): “And that--” Thanos looked proud, looking upon himself with a smirk on his face. “Is destiny fulfilled.”

EBONY MAW (2014): “Sire,” he could barely control the rage coursing through him. “Your daughter,” waving one hand in the air, a cord tightened around Nebula’s throat in a chokehold. “Is a traitor.” The last word was spat.

NEBULA (2014): Nebula was finally free of the forced memories, but as soon as any relief was felt there was cold metal being wrapped around her neck. The Maw tightened its grip, and she struggled to breathe as she felt the links dig into her skin. “No, no--” She shook her head frantically, trying desperately to convince her father that Maw was wrong. That wasn’t her, that couldn’t have been. Even though deep down, she knew the opposite was true. “That wasn’t me, I could never--- I would never betray you--” She watched as Thanos approached her, very calm and collected, and when he reached out the chain around her neck broke and fell away. Nebula took in a breath, thankful for a brief second that she had been saved, and then froze as her father cupped her face in his hand. He could easily end her right in this instant, but he didn’t. And she wondered why he kept giving her chance after chance, even as she failed him every time.

THANOS (2014): “I know.” Thanos replied, trying to get his hysterical daughter to shut her mouth. “And you will have your chance to prove it.”

NEBULA (2023): Nebula had been ready to leave with Rhodes. They the stone, they had a moment, and she was ready to go back. There was almost a smile on her face as she readied the GPS on her wrist, but before she could hit the switch her skull felt like it was about to split. The implants near her eyes sparked under the pressure, and she collapsed to the ground, holding her face in both hands as the pain spread. She was helpless, unable to move as someone or something forcefully pushed their way into her memory files. She tried to fight it. She did. But her efforts were wasted. And she caught glimpses of faces-- her father, Ebony Maw, Gamora. And she was able to piece together what had happened: somehow, her past self had become linked. Thanos had been able to see the future through her eyes. And-- he knew she was here. Once Maw deactivated the link, Nebula gasped for air and realized the severity of the situation. She pushed herself up and ran back to the pod as fast as her legs would carry her. Rhodey was gone, but Clint and Natasha could still be out there. But every attempt to contact them failed, and before she had a chance to run, Thanos’ ship arrived and beamed her aboard. This was it. She was done for, and so was the plan to save the universe. Nebula huddled in the corner of the pod, waiting for someone to open the hatch. She could have fought back. She wanted to fight back, but seeing her younger self made her freeze, and 2014 Nebula easily pulled her out and threw her down to the ground. ”You’re weak.” She said. And Nebula replied back: ”I’m you.” Her response prompted a punch, and as her skull met with the metal of the floor 2023 Nebula let herself lay there, even as her former self pulled the time GPS off her wrist.

NEBULA (2014): Nebula was reveling in her victory. She stood up as Gamora entered, dangling her prize in her sister’s face before passing her to take her place.

NEBULA (2023): “You could stop this.” 2023 Nebula looked up to Gamora, eyes brimming with tears. She thought she would never see her sister again. It was surreal, but she was also desperate and needed to lean on Gamora’s unspoken feelings. Nebula knew her sister wouldn’t go along with their father’s plan. “You know you want to. Did you see what happens in the future? Thanos finds the Soul Stone. You want to know how he does that? What he does to you?”

GAMORA (2014): Judging by the sound alone, Nebula was taking her aggression out on herself. Gamora heard the kicking and the grunts, the sound of boot meeting body and she entered the room assessing the situation. Nebula was holding something triumphantly but it wasn’t apparent what it was. As her sister passed her,  dark eyes flickered over to watch how close they came to brushing shoulders. It was with her head held high that Gamora tried to look at the version of her sister on the ground, but something was off in her posture. She couldn’t stand as straight and guarded as she needed to. Thanos finds the Soul Stone. If he did that, it meant... Those words caused a cataclysmic shift in Gamora. She blinked rapidly, lashes fluttering before her eyes fell to the ground. What he does to you? That was why she wasn’t there when he died. It had to be. Had her father killed her when he learned she lied? The map to Vormir remained nestled in Gamora’s mind. She knew enough to keep Thanos from getting on the right trail, but not enough about how to keep it safe from his greedy reach. In the future -- in as little as nine years -- she would be dead and Thanos would have the Stones. Even if he met his end too it wasn’t good enough. It meant that Gamora had failed somewhere along the lines and slipped up. It was enough to make her hands shake, but she was a warrior and an assassin. She wasn’t supposed to be short of breath or trembling from words alone. What he does to you? Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been pretty if this new and different Nebula sounded emotional about it. Her sister was far from stoic but the tone in her voice was new. For almost the first time since Thanos had decimated her planet, Gamora was truly s c a r e d.

NEBULA (2014): “That’s enough!” Nebula took a quick glance to Gamora before lashing out and promptly kicking her older self back down to the ground. Gamora was starting to look uncomfortable, almost.. scared. She didn’t think that he sister could feel fear. But the expression on her face was enough to make Nebula make sure this older version of herself shut up. She unsheathed a blade from her belt and it hummed with energy as she crouched down to her other self, waving the knife in her face as a threat. ”You disgust me.” She even went as far as throwing a hand to her neck, just enough pressure to make it obvious who had the advantage. “But-- that doesn’t mean you’re useless.” The one distinction between the two of them was the orange plate on her older self’s skull. It was bright and obvious, a strange choice. It made her stand out. But it could be taken, and it could be used. So Nebula took her blade and wedged it underneath the plate, removing it easily. She then removed her own replaced it, then took everything else she could find out of the pockets of her other self. This was sure to make her father proud.

NEBULA (2023): Nebula was broken. She didn’t say anything as her younger self walked out, head held high as she passed Gamora to go talk to Thanos. Their father wasn’t disappointed for once, and after a talk about their next move, 2014 Nebula was sent back in place of her other self. With the changes made to her appearance (the orange plate and a pair of gloves to cover up her flesh hand), it would be easy enough to blend in. She left the ship and went to 2023, leaving the rest of them behind to ready themselves for the fight ahead.

[ Our heroes are sucked through time, returning to one another at the New Avenger’s Facilities in the year 2023 ]

CLINT: Clint Barton was no stranger to pain. His years training as an expert bowman to be used as a weapon, to be mind controlled and pitted against his friends and teammates, to countless beatings because sometimes a bow just wasn’t enough. Clint Barton had thought pain was merely physical, maybe a touch mental, but mostly he could bandage up, pop a few aspirin, and be back in the game the next day. He’d never felt pain before, though, not until he watched his family get swept up like a cloud in the wind, reduced to ashes and given back to the Earth. Not until Natasha’s hand slipped out of his own and he couldn’t pull his gaze away quick enough before he saw her collide with the rocks below. She was gone. His family was gone. Clint Barton was gone. The return to the present was too much for him and he collapsed to his knees, the hard surface biting into him, but he didn’t feel it.

BRUCE: This trip was the epitome of an out of body experience for him and one that filled him with more confidence than anything else on this mission had before. “Did we get them all?” he asked to the group, but it was at that moment when he saw Clint fall to his knees. He took a step forward. “You okay, Clint?” He glanced around for Natasha but couldn’t see her. Did she enter in her calculations wrong? Tone and face full of concerned he asked Clint a question he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to. “Clint, where’s Nat?”

CLINT: All he could do was meet Bruce’s gaze, and then Steve’s. The horror that radiated from Steve’s face was almost palpable, and Clint understood the feeling all too much. It was his fault she wasn’t here. It was his fault he couldn’t save her. He hung his head low, the guilt radiating over him.

BRUCE: Clint’s face said it all. Bruce’s jaw dropped as his knees buckled. He couldn’t believe it. Before he knew it he found himself dropping to his knees not far from Clint. In a moment of Hulk like anger he slammed his fist into the platform denting it and causing the entire lab to tremble.

TONY: As soon as they arrived back through the portal, Tony felt like he could breathe again. There had been a snag in the plan but they fixed it. Sure, he saw his dad and things got weird. It got emotional, it got a little screwed up, but the mission was done. Steve got what they needed and the briefcase at his side had the stone that they lost. But it only took a few seconds to see the empty space next to Clint. Tony had been looking forward to that smile of hers when they got back, the one she had on just before they left. It had only been seconds since then in real time. Mere seconds, and now Natasha was gone. And suddenly their victory didn’t feel like much of one at all.