#nano gauntlet

[paradoxicwashere]

 The Infinity Sabers! Lightsabers that use each Infinity Stone as their Kyber Crystal! Drew these about two years ago, along with portraits of the heroes and villains that might have wielded them. Thinking about coming back to these designs and doing them again. 

[kingoftieland]

I’ve gathered the Infinity Stones and am primed to capture the spirit of Avengers: Endgame with this LEGO Marvel Nano Gauntlet – a challenging and rewarding 675-piece model-making project! 🤩

This vibrantly colored brick recreation of Iron Man’s iconic gauntlet features movable, jointed fingers as well as a descriptive tablet attached to a special display base. Created with adult builders in mind, this collectible display piece serves as a lasting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice made by Tony Stark to defeat Thanos once and for all.

[latecrowder]

Got the Nano Gauntlet for Christmas then ordered the light kits for it and the Infinity Gauntlet, assembled today! So much fun and I love the lighted stones, just a tad disappointed one light kit is noticably brighter than the other (they're both at their lowest settings) 😁🥰

[alexisr294]

CMB Predictions

April 8, 2014

March 19, 2015

January 27, 2018

[n4n0c0r3-blog]

Claw Gauntlets

Commission work Do not use this design without permission.

[rogersideup]

Nice to be kneaded

Chapter 17

Endgame

Series masterlist

Previous Part: Crawl Home to You Next Part: Good Luck Charm

Word Count: 7,236

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. Mentions of medical equipment, loss, abuse, PTSD, anxiety and depression.

Last night, you had cried yourself into such a deep sleep that a linear existence wasn't even a concept to your subconscious. It was the first time in weeks it felt like your mind had a moment to sit in silence without overthinking or anxiety poking at it's need for peace.

Steve knew you needed your sleep, and waking you up just to let you know they were about to snap the nano-gauntlet felt like all he would be doing was worrying you. So he sent you a quick text saying he loved you and decided that would be enough to allow you to keep the rest you deserved.

It worked, because you woke up to the sound of a deep, grumbling boom. Like thunder overhead, yet there was not even a cloud in the sky to indicate a storm would be happening.

When you sleep filled brain snapped awake, and immediately remembered the day the blip happened, the sound of rumbling immediately brought tears to your eyes and sprung you to your feet.

They did it.

You wanted to shout your joy from the rooftops, jump up and down with overflowing happiness, run through the streets to reconnect with all of the people you've missed for five whole years.

Then the tears started flowing, so prideful of Steve, and in complete awe that he had contributed to saving the world once more.

The phone on your nightstand started ringing and buzzing like crazy, calls and texts coming through from friends and family alike. Complete disbelief took over.

Between your two fingers, your squeezed your sunflower once just to see if you could get through to Steve and make sure he was okay.

Seeing your sunflower illuminate with one long, golden glow had you smiling from ear to ear as more tears fell down your cheeks. He was okay.

Completely disregarding the fact that you were in sweatpants and a tank top, you threw your messy hair up into a ponytail and quickly slipped a pair of sneakers on your feet before bolting through your bedroom and running down the staircase into the living room.

Just as you were unlocking the front door to run outside and take in the new state of the world, the breath was stolen from your lungs and you no longer felt like rejoicing.

The golden light of your sunflower caught your eye once more, and you counted four glows.

Emergency.

You stopped in place, hoping that your eyes had deceived you. Hoping for the best, you squeezed it back three times hoping you'd get three back. Maybe he tried to say he loved you and accidentally pressed it once more.

He received your message, and sent his again.

It illuminated four times. Emergency.

There was a small pause before he sent three, I love you.

That was all the confirmation you needed to know that he was trying to tell you something bad had happened. You could feel it in your gut that it wasn't going to end well, but for some reason, you still needed to go outside.

The second the sun hit your eyes it felt blinding, and much like the day half the population disappeared, the neighborhood was pouring out into the streets. People hugging and reconnecting outside, some we're confused, some were overly aware. Reunions were bitter sweet, so happy to be together again, yet so incredibly sad over lost time.

The fathers of daughters who had come back to their babies walking, and talking. Elderly couples who now had even less time to live the rest of their lives together, loved ones coming back to find their person had passed on in their time away.

The second your feet hit the porch, they slowly carried you down the steps. When the neighbors saw you and your tears, a handful of them immediately rushed towards you.

Everyone in this tiny town was well aware of Steve at this point, he was a celebrity to the locals yet they all loved him dearly and treated him so kindly. Steve was so loved, and he loved everyone in return.

Their concern for you and for him during a moment like this rushed to the forefront of their priorities.

"Oh darling" Your next door neighbor on the opposite side of Steve's old house pulled you into a hug. "Is Steve okay?"

You allowed her arms to comfort you, "I don't know."

Then more footsteps came rushing around you in all directions, arms engulfing you, hands holding your pieces together. You couldn't even distinguish who's voice was coming from where, but you were immensely grateful for the community always being there for you, and him.

"Honey, he did a wonderful thing."

"Have you heard from him?"

"Where is he?"

"New York" You lifted your head with a sniffle. "He's in New York, he said there's an emergency but I don't know what happened."

"He's strong, he'll be okay."

"He's going to be just fine."

"Steve is a force to be reckoned with, he's going to give hell to anything that tries to touch him."

More footsteps, then a breathless "have you guys heard the news?"

Your head lifted, you looked up at the friendly face that was looking back at you with regret and sympathy "What happened?"

"Thanos is back on earth, he brought an army. The entire avengers compound was destroyed, they're showing it on the news right now."

The tiniest gasp hitched in your throat, and settling anxiety dizzied your vision. It felt like your hearing cut out for a few moments while everyone else around you asked the important questions.

Tiny pieces of information poked through the thick film of fear shrink wrapping around you. We're the avengers okay? Nobody knew. The compound was no longer standing, it was nothing but a pile of rubble beneath the Avengers feet.

But the loudest and most invasive flood of information to your brain was your own voice screaming at you, telling you that the only ounce of control you had over Steve's well-being was to start going to him. Secondly, you thought of the Avengers and the love Steve had for them. They were now misplaced, some of them with no homes now that the compound was blown to shreds. You needed to go to them too.

"Sorry," You mumbled, stepping away from the support of your community and further into the driveway. "I have to go."

Running into your house and grabbing a few things, you shoved it all into a backpack and headed back outside.

The neighbors gentle voices tried to ask you where you we're going. Maybe they were trying to get you to think of the consequences of your actions before you set out on a long drive across state before you started the journey. But all you were thinking of was how he would get home, how you needed to be there for him if he got himself injured or even wors.... no. Not gonna happen.

Getting into the driver's seat and starting the car, you were immediately thankful to your past self that filled the tank with gas after arriving home from New York.

Setting out into the road, you knew there was a chance Steve would get mad at you for this. His only request was for you to stay home so he knew you would be safe, but right now you knew deep within you heart and soul that this is what you needed to do.

During the long drive, you tried to distract yourself through the hours. Blasting your favorite music, chatting with everyone who called you and catching up with everyone who had blipped. You even tried a few times to get into contact with your mom, but for some reason you still couldn't contact her for about an hour or two.

Driving though different cities gave you a good idea of what the world was like now. Some places you sped through with not another car in sight, every one at home with their loved ones, and in other places traffic was horrendous.

It got worse and worse the closer you got to the compound. As you started nearing, your heart pounded out of your chest as the sky got deeper and darker grey.

The smell of thick smoke was seeping through the exterior and through the air filters, you had to make so many different routes to avoid the road closures, sweet talk many police officers to convince them to let you cross evacuation barriers.

As if the universe had planned it, you pulled up at the perfect time. You got as close as you could, put your car into park, got out and started walking towards the smoke pillars and rubble. You could tell whatever had happened was over now. All the chaos in the sky had settled, and you could no longer hear any shouting, banging, or loud noises in general.

Then, your sunflower lit up with one long glow, and your phone started ringing shortly after.

You pulled it out of your pocket, and Steve's name was displayed loudly on the screen. Your shaky fingers accepted the call as fast as they could.

"Baby, are you okay?" You asked quickly.

You could hear him panting like a dog, and the rubble crunching beneath heavy tactical boots. "You're here?" He asked. His voice was breaking, and hoarse.

"Yeah, I am." You told him, knowing he had your location tracked for his own peace of mind. "I'm sorry, I know you told me to stay out but I just felt like I really needed to come be here for yo-"

"I need you" he panted, broken voice cutting off your apology. "You were right."

"Where are you?" You questioned, now having a fire lit under your ass to get to him even quicker.

"Stay where you are, I don't want you to have to see what happened over here." His emotions slowly cracked. "I'm coming to you."

Today had already been one of the worst of his life, and leaving you traumatized over the sight of a war zone and the body of someone you had developed a platonic love for was not something he wanted to do to you.

It wasn't long before you heard heavy footsteps coming towards you, you stood on end feeling uneasy and uncomfortable in the environment you willingly put yourself in.

Then, you saw him. Steve was doing his best to get to you, but he was hanging on by a thread. It instantly shattered your heart to see him so distressed and worn down.

The skin on his face and fingers were painted grey by the smoke and ash that clung to it, blood was pouring down his left cheek from underneath his helmet, and part of his bottom lip was cracked open. His legs were shaking and he walked slowly with a limp, and only half of his shield was attached to his arm. His big blue eyes that usually held a beautiful optimistic sparkle were dull and watery.

Your feet started running over to him faster than your mind could keep up with, and the closer you got, the more Steve unraveled.

He had exhausted his bravery and overextended his ability to hold his composure, so the very moment your hand landed on his shoulder and your eyes looked him up and down with a horrified look smeared on your sweet, beautiful face, he lost it.

"Holy shit" You whispered to yourself. One tear fell down his eye before disappearing under his helmet, then you wrapped your arms around him in a very gentle hug as to not cause him anymore pain, and that one tear turned into something you've never seen Steve do before.

He started sobbing.

Of course you've seen him cry before, but this was more than that. He was collapsing in your arms, failing to catch his breath between panting and crying as his emotions unwound faster than he's ever allowed them to before. You did your best to hold him up, but he was a solid, built guy who was a lot taller than you.

The two of you swayed as he cried, but you could feel just by holding onto him that he hadn't inhaled a single breath in a concerning amount of time.

"Breathe, honey." You reminded him calmly, one hand rubbing his back and the other cradling the back of his helmet covered head. "You have to breathe."

Steve inhaled a choppy attempt at a big breath, and recognized that he was starting to feel like all of the parts of the suit on his body were heightening the pain radiating through each of his limbs, it was suffocating and growing more unbearable by the second.

As if you were an expert of reading his mind and had a PhD in his body language, you let your arms release him slowly allowing him to hold himself up again before your hands reached for his face.

He couldn't rip his gaze away from your face. Usually when your eyebrows were furrowed and your lips pouted in deep concern for someone, it made him sad. But right now, your soft doe eyes and the whole of your deep concern being directed straight at him left him feeling a kind of comfort he hadn't felt since his mother was around. It only encouraged his tears to continue flowing at a rate that was completely unmanageable.

Your steady hands unbuckled the strap around his chin and lifted the helmet off his head then placed it on the floor before your thumbs carefully swiped tears off of his cheeks while avoiding all the blood on his face. All it did was smear the smoke across his cheeks even more, but he was soaking in every second of feeling your skin on his.

"Are you hurt?" You questioned softly, hands moving from his face down to his utility belt to unbuckle it from around his hips, but your eyes never left his.

"My arm" Steve confessed through choppy breaths and sniffles.

Only then did your eyes leave his, and trail down to his left arm. Half of his shield still attached, your hands grabbed his and lifted it carefully higher to your face to inspect it. That's when you realized he was still holding onto the shield because his forearm was slashed straight down the center through the suit, and it's leather straps were tightened to hold it together to keep it from bleeding out.

"Okay" You nodded, letting yourself process that he was injured. "Anywhere else?"

Unexpectedly, he let out a small laugh between the tears. "I just got the shit beat out of me, everything hurts."

You gave him a sympathetic smile, then something caught your attention out of the corner of your eye.

"Baby, you might not want to look over there." Steve warned you again with a remorseful sniffle, but it was too late.

You spotted the red and gold iron man suit all too easily amongst the dull grey surroundings. Though you couldn't make out much detail from far away, you could see his helmet was off, his arm was burned with a gauntlet on his hand, and he wasn't moving. He was surrounded by weepy Avengers, most of them kneeling or squatting around him and each other, offering hugs and condolences.

When you looked back at Steve, your heart broke even more for him. "Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry."

He had now lost two friends he loved dearly within 24 hours of each other, and there was nothing you could do to take the physical or mental pain away from him.

"Thanos and his army were about to destroy the planet." Steve explained with a cry, shaking his head in disbelief. "He got the gauntlet, snapped them away. The stones are powerful, a normal human body can't handle them."

"He did the right thing." You dropped your voice to a whisper, trying to hold back your own tears for Steve's sake. You ran your fingers through his sweaty hair a few times as he tried to grapple at the events that took place.

"He had a wife and kid." Steve cried. "They were his priority just as much as you were mine. What if it was me?"

"Baby, he kept them safe." You nodded tearfully, but still managing to keep them at bay. "He saved the world so Morgan could grow up safe and happy. He shouldn't have ever had to make that choice, and it's awful that it happened, but he did the right thing. No matter who would've done it, it was the right choice."

He nodded silently and let your words sink in.

"I'm so proud of you." You gently rubbed up and down the bicep of his injured arm, trying your hardest to keep him together. "Thank you for continuing to fight for humanity even when you felt like you had no fight left in you."

"I did it for you." He sniffled.

"I love you so much" Your arms engulfed him again, he clung onto you like his life depended on it. You could feel the whole of his body shaking in pain.

"I love you too" His tears were slowing down, but remained in a state of overwhelming emotion.

"Should we get you to a hospital?" You asked, hating every second of knowing how bad he was hurting.

He shook his head. "I just want to go home."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this, my love." You squeezed the back of his neck. "What about your arm? They can give you some painkillers, clean you up, take care of your face."

"I know it looks scary, but the serum will take care of it." He shoved his face deeper into your neck.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm" He reassured. "I really want to be mad at you for putting yourself in danger like this, but I'm so happy you're here."

You smiled at his words, "You can be mad at me if you need to, but if I was in an emergency in a whole different state you would move mountains to get to me."

"I'd rage war on the entire world." He grumbled.

"Honey, you're shaking like a leaf. Do you want to sit for a minute?" You asked, then your attention was pulled away by the footsteps of multiple people, and a voice.

"Oh, there he is. Guys, we found him." Spoke a male voice you didn't recognize.

"Sugar cookie!"

You looked up and couldn't even help the smile that subconsciously smeared across your face. "Sam! Welcome back!"

Steve looked up and unwrapped himself from the hug, but you both kept one arm around each other to help hold him up.

"I'm happy to see you, sugar! And even happier to see that you and Stevie boy over here made it work."

He quickly approached you and gave you a one armed hug, understanding why you weren't letting go of Steve.

"Me too." You smiled, now seeing the bright side of what Steve fought so hard for.

"Let me help you out, are you alright Steve?" Sam asked, coming around to Steve's other side and taking the weight of the soldier off of you.

"I'll be fine." He nodded simply, accepting Sam's help.

You were so focused on Steve and Sam that you failed to notice the shyer, more timid footsteps headed towards you three.

Sam, pointed before saying "Hey, have you ever met B-"

"Bucky!" You enthused, walking towards him with open arms.

Your warmth made a smile appear on his face too, and when he met you in the middle, he happily gave you a hug.

Ever since Steve started telling him about you all the way back during his days in Wakanda, he had a deep rooted fear that you would be scared of him. But that all dissolved when your hands quickly rubbed his back and and you approached him without even a second thought.

"It's so nice to finally meet you." You told him.

"It's about time." Bucky agreed, still a bit shy.

You remembered all of the countless conversations you've had with Steve about Bucky.  How when they were teenagers, Bucky was outgoing and extroverted, maybe to a fault. But nowadays he was shy, slow to warm up, and slow to feel comfortable around new people. You understood wholeheartedly, and wanted to give him the space he needed to gain confidence that you were safe to be around.

All of Steve's family had been through a lot in life, but especially Bucky, and especially in this very moment.

"Sam, Bucky, are you guys okay? Are you hurt?"

Both of the boys shook their heads no, then gave their undivided attention to Steve. All three of you knew he wasn't going to be able to exert himself for much longer at all, so they helped you out.

Sam ran to inform everyone that Steve had to go, while Bucky started helping him walk to your car. Eventually Sam caught up and both boys walked him over, taking most of his weight in the way there. You put his belt, helmet and half the shield into the trunk while Steve leaned against the car, and the three boys chatted away.

They were all in agreement that Steve needed to be home, and given lots of love and attention while he healed his body and mind. It was really sweet to see the love they had for each other in real time. A small circle of people Steve trusted to let see the tears fall regardless of being in uniform. Though it was terribly sad, and so bittersweet, the underlying tone was pure love and you couldn't help but to soak it all in.

When you joined them again, Sam looked at you. "I think we should get this man home."

"Couldn't agree more." You nodded, but you couldn't help but to worry about them too. "Boys, do you have a place to go?"

"I'm headed to my sister's place." Sam confirmed.

Then your eyes met Bucky's. "I'll figure it out." He told you, but you could hear the lack of belief in his own statement.

"Come with us." You told him confidently. Then realized you should probably check with Steve before inviting someone to stay with you, but he was starting to hunch over in pain, his eyes were closing and he wasn't paying much attention to anything other than staying upright. "We have a guest room, you can stay as long as you need."

"No, I couldn't possibly burd-"

"You're absolutely not a burden." You didn't even allow him to finish that statement. "You deserve a comfortable place to lay low for a while, I'd love to get to know you better, and I think it would be good for Steve to have you around. You're more then welcome, we'd love to have you."

He sighed, "okay, but I promise it'll just be for a few days until I can get a place."

You shook your head. "As long as you need, no rush."

"Let's get Rogers in the car" Sam told Bucky, earning a nod.

They got him into the backseat so he could sprawl out if need be, and buckled his seatbelt. The boys said bye to Sam, then Bucky got in the back to keep an eye on him and make sure his arm wasn't bleeding too much on the way home.

It was just you and Sam standing outside the driver door, and he wasn't shy about giving you information you needed to know about Steve.

"The serum will heal his body but it also makes him mentally strong, so seeing him like this is... it's hard." Sam admitted.

"I know, it breaks my heart." You agreed. "I'll take good care of him."

"I looked after him when he ended up in the hospital once. When he gets injured like this and is in extreme emotional pain, he falls asleep for a very long time. You can wake him up for short periods of time but he'll fall back asleep quickly. It's like the serum is using every ounce of energy it can to self repair, he has nothing left for anything else."

Thinking back to all time times Steve was especially sad, and the whole time he spent as a fugitive, you realized Sam was right. He always slept it off. "That's actually really helpful, thank you."

"Is it okay if I call you to check up on them?" He asked.

"Call me whenever you'd like. Do you want to come with us too? It'll at least get you out of New York."

"Thank you, but I really should get home to my sister, check in on my nephews." Sam smiled.

"I understand" You nodded. "You're welcome anytime."

The two of you exchanged phone numbers and said your goodbyes before hitting the road again back to Greenwood. It didn't take long for Bucky to fall asleep next to Steve, so for a few hours you played your playlists quietly to try and keep yourself entertained after having driven so many hours already. Eventually Bucky woke up, and sure enough, Steve had slowly and unconsciously started making his way over to cuddle him.

It made you giggle every time you looked back at them through the rear view mirror. Bucky had to practically fight Steve's limbs to keep off of him and every once in a while he would a mumble out a comment about how he hasn't changed at all since they were teenagers.

Eventually Bucky offered to drive the rest of the way once he realized how long you had already driven today, and that it was probably in Steve's best interest if you were the one looking after him. So you pulled over at a gas station, filled up, then switched with Bucky feeling more than grateful to get away from the wheel for a while.

When you got into the back seat with him, you sat in the middle so he could get all the snuggles he didn't even know he was asking for. Realizing there were more parts of his suit you could still take off to make him more comfortable, you removed the communication device from his ears, pulled the thick leather gloves off his hands, and rolled up the sleeve of his suit on his injured arm so the fabric didn't irritate the gash further.

After spending the whole day in the car, the relief that rang through your body when Bucky pulled into your driveway was immense. The two of you got Steve out of the car, into the house and up the stairs successfully, but it caught a lot of attention from friends in surrounding houses.

A few came out to offer help and thank Steve for what he did, but you could see it in their eyes that seeing Captain America unconscious and covered in blood was their first reality check that being a superhero wasn't all that fun.

The two of you sat him safe and comfortably in your shared room before getting Bucky a comfortable change of Steve's clothes and setting him up for a shower and a very long nap in the guest bedroom. He was incredibly grateful to be given that luxury.

Then, you had to deal with your 250 pound bag of bones. Standing over him, you started shaking his shoulders and tapping his cheeks to try and get him to wake up. And when he did, he looked around with a confused and scared look in his eyes when he realized he wasn't where he thought he was anymore.

"Hi baby." You said to pull his eyes towards you, hoping he would feel safe again. "You're okay, we're back home safe and sound."

"Bucky is here?" He mumbled, trying to keep his eyes open.

"Yeah, he's just downstairs settling in." Keeping your voice and your touch gentle. "How are you feeling?"

"Still hurts."

"I'm sorry, sweet boy." A physical pain bloomed through your chest as he muttered those two words. Watching the strongest person you know become so weak had been one of the saddest moments you've bared witness to. "I want to try to get you out of the suit and cleaned up so you can get more comfortable. Do you think you can handle that right now?"

"You'll help me?" Steve asked.

"Of course, I'm not going to leave you." You reassured him.

"Yeah I think I can do that." He nodded, slowly blinking his eyes.

With a whole lot of patience and working carefully and slowly, you helped get him undressed, showered, and semi-dressed again while trying your hardest not to cause him any more pain than he was already in.

It was hard for you to see his body in such destress, every piece of clothing you removed revealed a new deep purple bruise that was settling beneath his skin. The blood washed off his face but it was still cut up, and tiny little hisses and whimpers of pain he tried his hardest to keep to himself would escape past his throat every once in a while.

Eventually you got him into bed. His hair was still a little soggy from getting washed, and you didn't manage to get a shirt or pants on him but hey, it was good enough. Only once you got him settled and comfortable did you sit next to him and start gently wrapping up the cut on his forearm.

The serum was already doing a good job taking care of it. It was no longer bleeding and it started fusing back together, but you still wanted to make sure it stayed clean and unbothered as he healed.

You finished by cleaning up what you could, put your own soggy hair from having to get into the shower with him into a clip, then got into bed next to him.

Fingers sliding through his damp hair, and delicate kisses being placed to his temple, he finally let it sink in that he was safe and would continue to be safe.

He fell asleep again, and the deeper he fell the more he clung onto you. The biggest part of you was happy and relieved to have him slowly smothering you, at least you knew he was safe and out of harms way. But, you couldn't quiet the smaller part of your brain that couldn't stop barking worries at you. Luckily, it all seemed  trivial now that the world could start healing again.

Steve slept through the rest of the day, the entirety of the night, and didn't wake up until late morning the next day. You tried waking him up once to see if he wanted to eat, but it was clear when he started responding to you with his eyes closed that it wasn't going to happen.

Luckily it was pretty easy to slip out from beneath him. That night you and Bucky got a lot of time to talk and bond over dinner and a few beers, you even snuck off to go see if Georgia was home from the hospital yet but the driveway was empty and your knocks at the door were unanswered.

It seems like everyone slept in the next morning, including you who was woken up to back rubs and the sweetest kisses. The sun was shining brightly through the curtains, and big blue eyes were looking back at you as you opened yours.

"You're so pretty" Steve whispered with a soft smile, continuing to rub your back.

"Good morning, baby." You mumbled, trying to wake yourself up more. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better." He confirmed. "Still sad, but better. Maybe a little embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? Why?" Your hand found his cheek.

"I broke down fast, and hard." He said with a shy expression, "I couldn't even hold myself together."

"You hold yourself to a standard that's impossible to attain." You told him, gently rubbing his cheek with the pad of your thumb. "I love you and I love that big ol' heart of yours. I love that you express your emotions, and all I want you to do is feel all of your feelings. But the only thing I will not allow you to feel is embarrassed over how you reacted to something that traumatic."

"Well for what it's worth, I'm definitely feeling feelings."

"Be gentle with yourself." You pressed a kiss to his lips, prompting his eyes to close. "Just in the past few days you've time traveled, made amends with an agreement that wrapped your life up for two whole years, lost two of your friends, and almost sacrificed yourself to an army of titans trying to take over the planet. You saved the world. It's okay to cry."

He nodded before shoving his face into the pillow below his head. Patiently and calmly, you played with his hair waiting for him to open up more about the recent events. You could tell the word vomit was on the tip of his tongue, the moment he started to let it spew out it would take a while to stop, and you were ready to listen for however long he needed you to.

"Where did you go when you time traveled?" You questioned, trying to give him a place to start.

"Avengers tower in 2012, we tried to get the space stone in Loki's scepter." He started. "I had to fight my past self in hand to hand combat, do you know how weird that is?"

"No, no I don't." You denied with a smile. "Did you get a chance to see how handsome you really are?"

Your fingers pinched his cheeks, earning a blush. "I was a little too busy free falling off a glass bridge from a few stories high."

"That's fair."

"Well our plan didn't work, so Tony and I went to Camp Lehigh in the 70's to get the Tesseract."

"Why the 70's?" You questioned.

Recalling the reason to you felt like telling his mom a story not realizing there was incriminating information in it, so the tiniest giggle escaped his lips. "Well Tony and I may have used the last of our pym particles to get there because Hank Pym used to have a lab at the camp at the same time the tesseract was there, so we were going to grab the stone and more particles to get home! A win win!"

You narrowed your eyes at him. "Im so glad I had no idea any of this was happening."

"It's better that way." Steve agreed.

"Was it weird to be back?"

"It was weirder to be back during a time I could've lived through had I not, you know..."

"Yeah" You let him know you understood, not wanting him to have to recall yet another traumatic event.

"It was also weird getting the chance to see people I used to know, but older than when I knew them."

The moment those words left his lips, Steve watched happy crinkles form around the corner of your big beautiful eyes, and your lips trying to contain a smile. "Did you see Peggy?"

Steve was immediately nervous to answer that.

It was the first time her name had ever left your mouth. The two of you had never spoken about ex partners unless it was about how bad your last one was.

From what Steve understood, the story of his journey as Captain America back in World War II was one that was often taught about in school. Him, Bucky, the Howling Commandos, Dr. Erskine, Howard, and Peggy. Their relationship was no secret, it was a tale told to kids, a short lived romance that inspired movies and stories around the country.

Though it's true that she got him first, he loved you more.

The last thing Steve wanted to do was hurt your feelings or say the wrong things. But he also knew he had a lot of feelings about the lost time and lost chances in his life that wouldn't be healthy to keep bottled up. Recognizing he needed to talk about it with someone also meant that he finally had something he couldn't talk though with you. For your sake, he wanted to protect your heart as much as you protected his.

"I did." He kept his tone neutral and face expressionless with a hint of apology. "Through an office window by accident."

Unexpectedly, your smile grew wider. "Did you talk to her?"

"What? No." His eyebrows furrowed.

"Why not?" You questioned.

"I could thing of about 15 different reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea." Steve defended himself, realizing that you wanted him to have seen her.

"Oh yeah? Name one." You stood your ground.

"Well, let's start with the fact that my body was somewhere frozen into a big block of ice and I was supposed to be dead."

"Not good enough, you should've been warmer." You denied, obviously joking.

"Ugh, you're so right." Steve agreed. "Also I don't know if you know this, but I have a really incredible girlfriend that I love more than anything in the whole world. I was a little too focused on getting home to her."

"You didn't even want to say goodbye?" You asked with a pout.

"I already did. I said it in person a few months before she passed, and again when I carried her casket into her funeral. There's nothing more that needed to be done." He said confidently. "Why the pout, honey?

Your thumb drew a heart into his cheek. "Because Peggy was my favorite person to study in history class, and frankly I'm jealous. Not for the obvious reasons, but because you got to see her and I didn't."

That brought a rush of relief to Steve's mind and a genuine laugh out of his body. "That's adorable, and I'm sorry. I'll be more considerate next time I find myself in the 70's."

"Thank you, I really appreciate that." You smiled. "Is this a good time to tell you I wrote an essay about her in high school and got an A on it?"

"How long have you waited to tell me that?" Steve asked, feeling more awake now but it was obvious you were still a little sleepy.

"How long has it been since I figured out you were Captain America?"

Steve giggled again, "did you get any A's on Captain America essays?"

"Literally never." You denied. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I understand." His smile prevailed.

"If I wrote one now I'd get an A plus."

"Oh, I believe it." He agreed.

"How's you arm? I've been worried about it."

"Feels like it's not even injured anymore." He eased your mind, before easing his own. "How have you been holding up with all of this?"

Another kiss was placed on his lips before you started. "I'm okay. It was hard seeing you yesterday, and it going to take a while to not be sad about Nat and Tony, but I'm so happy you guys were able to reverse what Thanos did."

"Have you talked to your Mom?"

"I did." You smiled. "She googled my name to try and find out if I was okay before she called me, and I think she's a little shocked that I'm dating you but other than that I think it'll take her a while to process what happened to the universe."

"Oh no, does she not like me?" Steve cringed.

"It's impossible to not like you" you denied.

"Have you met Georgia and Michael?" He questioned. "Speaking of, had you heard from her?"

"She's okay." You confirmed with a nod. "Should be back home at some point today."

"Did I hallucinate that Bucky is here or is that real?"

"Oh no that's real, he's downstairs." This time you giggled. "Were you hallucinating?"

"I... don't know. Yesterday was a blur." He answered. "I thought we agreed to you not taking in anymore fugitives!"

"Oh but this one is so cute!" You enthused as if the grown adult assassin in your guest bedroom was a puppy. "Can we keep him!?"

Steve shook his head at you with a smile. "Unbelievable."

"Pleaaaassseeee" You begged.

"Maybe I should call your mom and ask her why she didn't teach you stranger danger" he joked.

"Bucky is no stranger, you big meanie." You very gently hit the top of his arm, the way it was barely even a pat made him laugh. "He's wonderful. We had dinner together last night."

"You and Bucky had dinner together?!" Steve questioned. "He's gonna steal my girl with a clean sweep."

"No he's not." You denied. "And to be fair, I did try to wake you up."

Steve smiled and kissed you softly. "Thanks for looking out for him. It means a lot to me."

"He's important to you, so he's important to me." You reminded Steve.

"But you like him so far?"

"I love him, he's great." You sleepily enthused.

"I should go bother him" Steve noted, trying to get himself out of bed. He slowly sat up and kicked his legs over the edge until he was sitting. "You wanna go bother Bucky too?"

"Is bothering him my only option?"

"You could annoy him? Maybe pester him."

"Existing in peace isn't an option?" You giggled, stretching out your back and all 4 limbs now that Steve was up and you had the whole bed to yourself.

"With Bucky? Never."

"Sounds fun" you nodded.

You watched Steve stretch each of his shoulders out, pulling each arm to the side between opposite folded forearms and bicep. His face scrunched up, and a little wince sounded from his throat.

"I thought I felt better, but lying down was really deceiving." He noted.

"You look pretty solid considering you were half dead yesterday." You noted enthusiastically. "That's good, right?!"

Steve watched you get out of bed before looking down and realizing he really had barely any recollection of what happened after you made it to New York. "Also, where are my clothes? Why am I half naked? And who saw me naked? How am I so clean?"

You laughed at his choice of words. "Just me, I helped you take a shower, remember?"

"Nope." He popped the P at the end of the word. "But thank you!"

"No problembo"

He opened his arms for you as you approached for a hug, and he happily wrapped you up and kissed your head. He was always grateful for you, but a little more so right now.

"You're incredible, Honey." You reminded him once more, your hands rubbing the bare skin of his back. "I'm happy and sad for you at the same time, but I hope through the good and bad you can find peace now."

"This was definitely a good start." He grinned. "I love you, I couldn't have done it without your support."

"I love you too."

"My arms still really hurt." He stated, gently swaying you from side to side. "Probably from wielding mjolnir."

That statement earned your stillness as you thought about what he had just said. Then all at once you pulled away from his hold, "you did WHAT?!"

Series Finale: Good Luck Charm

Tag List: @patzammit @bemysugarbean @happinessinthebeing @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @differenttyphoonwerewolf @themotherof10 @talesofadragon @spikeluv84 @royalwriteroftheuniverse @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @bitchy-bi-trash @crazyunsexycool @openup-yourmind @selella @kattreffic @benedict-squirtle @magnificentsaladllama @theroyalmanatee @calwitch @avengersinitiative2012 @rogersbarber @daddywattpad4945

[riverkingmarley]

It's okay an just glad I found somebody who acknowledges how cringe that whole thread was

I do think it would be funny to read the worm au these guys wanted:

Taylor doesn’t die to leviathan but the story switches to Colin’s point of view anyway and we watch him fight random s9 members for 100 chapters before he comes back to the bay and tells Taylor off for how dumb she is and how correct colin was for not providing her any support or outreach. Then he makes a magic nano-machine gauntlet that kills Scion when he snaps his fingers and says “I am Defiant”.

[sjsmith56]

On the Road

Summary: Bucky takes a witness to a murder on the road to keep her safe. Over the long trip, they become close.

Length: 9.8 K (I know, it’s a long one.)

Characters: Bucky Barnes, named OFC, Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova.

Warnings: Memories of Bucky’s time with HYDRA, violence causing injury and/or death.

Author’s notes: Inspired by a song Los Navegantes by Hermanos Gutierrez which had me thinking of spaghetti westerns (also referenced in the story). Bucky definitely has a bit of the vigilante in him.

It had been an hour since Taylor Hollis was brought to the Avengers Tower. Placed into witness protection after she witnessed a mob hit, the Federal Marshals on her detail had little time to prepare for an attack on their safe house. While three of the officers stayed to fight off the attackers, the fourth Marshal successfully managed to get her to a motorcycle stashed in a shed at the back of the property then drove through the thinnest part of the gauntlet where his colleagues had focused their counterattack. He brought her to the safest place he could think of at that moment, Avengers Tower in the heart of Manhattan. After flashing his ID at the security desk, he pulled Taylor forward, asked them to protect her, then collapsed, dying in hospital later from the bullet that pierced his spleen, slowly bleeding to death on the desperate drive into the city.

Now she sat on the couch in the communal living room in the residence section, her trembling hands grasping a cup of tea given to her by Sam. He stood with Bucky and Joaquin out of earshot.

"What have you found out?" asked Bucky.

"They were betrayed," replied Joaquin. "Someone in the Marshal's service gave up their location. Someone wants her dead, which likely means whoever gave their location up was involved in the murder she witnessed."

"Fury spoke to a trusted source, and they want us to take over her security while they try to uncover the mole." Sam shook his head. "She could stay here but I'm guessing they'll try again. His source said not to trust anyone from the Marshal's service."

"I'll take her," offered Bucky. "There are lots of former HYDRA safe houses we can hole up in. They have cash, weapons and functional surveillance systems I can access."

Sam looked doubtful. "Weren't those sites all exposed in the info dump?"

"No, there were just as many off the books as those that were documented." Bucky gestured to her. "You know that I can keep her safer than anyone else here. Bring in a SHIELD agent that's built like me, put a nano mask on his face and arm so they think I'm still here. I'll take a burner phone and check in only with you, Sam. Keep it compartmentalized."

As Bucky laid out his complete plan both Sam and Joaquin nodded their approval, even though there was some risk involved. With Sam leaving to inform Fury and Joaquin continuing to monitor surveillance channels, Bucky approached the woman, who had the thousand-yard stare.

"Hey," he said, calmly, offering her his hand. "I'm Bucky. What's your name?"

"Taylor," she smiled grimly. "What's going to happen to me?"

"We were just discussing that. There's concern that your safe house location was compromised by a mole in the Federal Marshal's service." She looked alarmed. "Not the four that were there but someone higher up who may have been involved in the hit you witnessed."

"Is Jerry, okay? There was so much blood, but he never said a word while he brought me here."

"I'm sorry but he didn't make it. None of them did."

She put her cup down and buried her face in her hands, crying. Bucky shifted to sit next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. As the sobs shook her body he held her, allowing her the time to grieve for the federal agents who died protecting her. Eventually she regained control, and he gave her his handkerchief, telling her to keep it.

"What now?"

He looked at her reddened eyes and swollen cheeks which didn't hide the fact that she seemed like a good person. At that moment he knew why the four Marshals sacrificed themselves for her. It made his offer feel even more righteous.

"I have skills that include staying off the radar," he replied. "You and I are going on the road to some undocumented safe houses. No one will know where we are and I'll only check in with one person, Captain America. We'll stay off the grid as long as we need to. When they arrest the mole, we'll come back in, and I'll stay with you until you testify."

For a moment she glanced away, then she looked back at Bucky.

"How good are you, Mr. Barnes?"

A smile flickered across his face at her using his last name. She knew exactly who he was.

"The best and I'm not bragging. You know who I am and who I was before. I'll protect you as if you were the most important person on Earth. That's my promise."

"When?"

"We need to get some things set up, clothing, transportation, and cash. They won't be here but at a drop off point, although I'll take clothing and weapons from here. We'll use a quinjet in stealth mode to get there. Then we'll be on our own." He looked at his watch. "I think we should leave just after sunset."

"I have nothing with me," she said.

"Don't worry, it's already being taken care of." He took her hand in his right one, squeezing it gently. "Would you like to take a shower or a bath and relax before then?"

Taylor nodded and he stood up, still holding her hand. Taking her to his quarters, he showed her the bathroom, explaining the shower and bathtub controls, then gave her a bathrobe to wear while her clothing needs were sorted out. As he left her there, he came out of his door to find Yelena approaching with an assortment of clothing.

"She's having a shower," he said. "Be kind to her. She's an innocent and feels guilty about the deaths of the Marshals on her detail."

"You're a good man, Yasha," she said. "She needs the best for this, and I know you won't allow anyone to hurt her."

He nodded and sought out Sam. Together they worked out what Bucky wanted; a reliable vehicle that couldn't be hacked or tracked remotely, and any maintenance on it could be done by Bucky, burner phone, $10,000 cash in assorted bills, nothing larger than $20 in denomination, non-perishable foods, camping gear for two, and the weapons that Bucky would choose from the armoury. Anything else could be found in the safe houses or picked up along the way.

"Fury gave a code word for when the mole is arrested and you need to come in," said Sam, handing Bucky a folded piece of paper. He read it and tore it up into bits, then put the pieces in a metal dish and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, lighting it on fire. Even Friday wouldn't know what the code was. Not that Bucky thought it would be needed if the mole used his sources to search for them. Sam then handed him two other devices. "This is a GPS locator. One time use, and then the device scrambles and won't work anymore. If you find yourself in trouble, activate it and stay put. A portal will open to bring help. This other one is a scanner so you can quickly determine if anyone put a tracker on your car. You know the drill."

Bucky nodded. "Stay away from anywhere there are security cameras, no speeding, no drawing attention to myself. I'm going to grow a beard and use a nano sleeve on the arm. I guess I should build a cover story for us."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a trip across America," suggested Sam. "Lots of people do it." He put his hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Stay safe."

A slight smile was his response, and he headed to the armoury, picking up his preferred selection of weapons, including an M249 Saw, two Glock 17s, two SIG-Sauer P226s, and an assortment of combat knives. He added as much ammunition as he could, then tossed in several holsters the pistols and sheaths for the knives. Zipping it all together, he left it in his locker, making sure his tactical suit was folded up and slid into a carrying case along with his combat boots. From there he went to the operations centre and requested a nano sleeve and a couple of ball caps. After checking the sleeve's function, he placed it back in its storage case, taking it with him. On his return to his quarters, he unlocked the door and announced he was coming in.

"We're all packed," answered Yelena, who was sitting with Taylor on the couch in his living room. She turned to the woman. "You're in good hands with Yasha. He is the best."

After she left, Taylor looked at him. "Yasha?"

"Russian nickname for James," he explained. "I just have to pack some clothes. Are you hungry? We should eat first as it might be a while before we stop."

"I guess I should." She stood up. "How are we going to do this? Every movie I ever saw where an agent had to protect someone, they came up with a cover story in case they were stopped."

"We'll keep it simple," replied Bucky. "Boyfriend and girlfriend taking a road trip, so we'll have to hold hands and be somewhat affectionate when we’re in public. I'm going to stop shaving as my beard should grow in enough to disguise me within a couple of days. We'll use ball caps and sunglasses outside as much as we can. The rest we can talk about on the quinjet, then in the vehicle."

She nodded and followed him to the communal kitchen, where someone had laid out several different orders of takeout. Bucky handed her a plate, but no one asked who she was, as they already knew. It was a quiet meal and Taylor put her dirty dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them in the sink. Together, she and Bucky returned to his quarters, where she waited while he packed a bag of clothes. Finally, he came out of his room with his things.

"Bring your bag and follow me," he said. "I have to make one stop."

At the locker room, he went inside and got his weapons bag and tac suit bag, handing the former to Sam, who was waiting with Taylor.

"Jesus, did you bring everything?" he grinned.

"Just the essentials," answered Bucky. "Too heavy for you?"

"Too heavy for everyone except the cyborg," he answered.

"Not in front of company, Sam."

Taylor smiled shyly at the banter between the two men, recognizing it as two friends expressing themselves before a mission. They took the elevator to the launch pad for the quinjet, which was invisible, except for where the ramp was lowered, exposing the inside of the aircraft. She touched the invisible edge beside the ramp, her face showing her disbelief that she could feel the metal but just couldn't see it.

"It's cloaked," said Sam. "Just in case anyone is watching. They won't see you take off. The ramp is facing the door so from any other angle it's invisible." They stowed their bags inside, then Bucky sat at the pilot's seat, gesturing to Taylor to sit next to him. She buckled in. "Fury remotely programmed the coordinates of the car. As soon as you're off, enter the Recall command on a timer so it returns here. Take care. Miss Hollis, you're in very good hands."

"That's what I understand," she replied, then she looked at Sam. "Thank you for your kindness."

He smiled, then squeezed Bucky on the shoulder and left the quinjet. The ramp closed and Bucky went through his checklist.

"Ready?"

Nervously, she gripped the arm rest, then laughed at herself as she didn't even feel it lifting into the air. Even as Bucky applied the throttle, it was so smooth that she wondered why all aircraft weren't like this. An inquiry from Air Traffic Control about their flight had Bucky responding in a coded message that took a moment for ATC to answer. When they did, they responded with another code and Bucky was given clearance to a secure altitude.

"We're off their radar," he answered to her unspoken question. "Because of the classified nature of some of our missions, they can't know where we're going. This is one of those situations." He flipped a switch. "That's just to make sure. That repels any attempts to track us by radar." He set a timer and then the automatic pilot. "We've got time to talk now."

For the next hour she told him about being a server in a restaurant in Manhattan, one of two jobs she had. She had just finished her shift then realized she forgot something at the restaurant she needed for her other job. Returning, she went straight to the back room, to retrieve it, then heard several loud pops. Cracking the door open she saw several armed men surrounding a table of men who arrived shortly before she returned. One of them at the table was dead, his head facing sideways on the table. She gasped, a sound that one of the armed men heard. Closing and locking the door, she went out the back and into the alley, trying to stay behind the various dumpsters and garbage cans that blocked the view of anyone coming into the alley. Coming out near a subway entrance, she went down the stairs and used her transit card to get onto the platform, desperately waiting for the next train. As it arrived, she saw several of the same armed men from the restaurant coming down the stairs, looking for her. Trying not to stare she boarded the train and prayed they wouldn't get on. They didn't but when the train passed the men, one of them stared right at her and she realized he knew she saw them.

"I didn't notice that I dropped the package for my other job, but they showed up there, and got my address. I was already at the police station then, filing my witness statement. Right away they called the Federal Marshals, and I never went home after that. That was a week ago."

"Our director thinks one of the men who was there is a mole in the Federal Marshal's Service," said Bucky. "Did anyone have you look at mug shots or employee records?"

She nodded. "They're associated with the Umberto crime family. They didn't mention looking at employee records."

They spoke some more about their cover. It was important that they not spend too much time in a single place ... no more than a few days.

"Do you know how to fire a gun?" he asked.

"Not really," she answered. "My ex was into guns and tried to show me, but he wasn't a very patient man. He made me more nervous than anything."

"Okay, I'm a good teacher and I'd like you to know how, just in case I need you for backup."

An alert sounded and they returned to the cockpit, seeing they were within minutes of their destination. Taking control, Bucky used the sensors on the quinjet to locate the vehicle, its ghostly image showing up on the screen. Another vehicle was nearby, and it flashed its headlights in the Morse code configuration for 73, meaning Best Regards. Bucky flashed a light under the quinjet with CFM for Confirm. He landed, then put his hand on Taylor's arm when she started to rise.

"It's better if they don't see you," he said. "I'll get the keys and anything else that needs to be handed over then send them on their way."

He turned the lights inside down low then went to the ramp and pressed a control to lower it, then raised it again when he was outside. A holographic screen came on in front of Taylor showing him talking to two agents. One of them handed him the keys to the car, while the other gave him a sealed envelope. Then both agents got into their car and drove away. Bucky watched until they were out of sight before he returned to the quinjet and opened the ramp, entering.

"Friday, lights please." He pressed his thumb on an outline on the envelope then waited as the sealant on it dissolved before he opened it. There were several sheets of paper that he scanned quickly. "Looks like they figured out who the mole is. He's a Marshal, John Patterson, who was assigned to guard a witness in another Umberto trial. They were attacked and everyone except him was killed. They did a forensic audit of his finances and found an offshore account using an alias from when he was a regular police officer working undercover. A deposit of $5 million was made three years ago when he was head of the detail for that witness. There was another $2 million deposited last week just before the hit, and $2 million yesterday. He's definitely after you." He heard a gasp from Taylor and looked up. "Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you but it does mean we may have to improvise and change the existing plans a little. If they gave him that kind of money it means they can buy off other law enforcement. Now that he's been identified I have permission to take him out if you're in danger. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a stone-cold killer anymore but if I must, I will."

Together they transferred everything to the Toyota 4Runner, a 2002 model that had no tracker installed. Bucky ran the scanner over it to be sure. Inside the back was everything he asked for. He took some of the money out, placing it in his wallet then put the clothing bags on the back seat, but everything else fit into the back. He also slipped the nano sleeve onto his arm; in case they were stopped for any reason. Finally, they were ready to go and put their seatbelts on.

"I can stay awake for long periods of time so I'm going to drive for as long as I can," he said. "You might as well sleep."

"I'll try," she answered. "Do you know where we are?"

"Yeah, I know exactly where we are, but we'll be far away from here by morning."

She smiled at him, then as he pulled onto the highway, she turned slightly towards him so she could pull her knees up onto the seat. When he looked again her eyes were closed and her breathing steady. It made him feel good inside that she trusted him enough to sleep.

🌅

A hand on Taylor's arm woke her up; she opened her eyes to Bucky's blue ones.

"We're getting close to the safe house," he said. "When we get there, you stay in the vehicle while I check to make sure it's safe for us to go in. Keep the doors locked." He looked at the road again before glancing back at her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I usually can't sleep in a car, but I guess I was more tired than I thought."

He pulled into the driveway of an overgrown property and got out. Grabbing a gun, he gestured to Taylor to lock the doors and walked to the door of the house, looking for any signs of a surveillance camera. Not finding one, he examined the door, searching for an input device. He found it behind a false panel that popped its cover when he pressed gently. Looking at the keypad he studied it for several long moments then entered a code based on his memory, certain he had been in this building before. A click, and the door opening confirmed it. Carefully, he stepped inside, placing a chair in the doorway to keep it from locking behind him.

It smelled musty inside and there was a thick layer of dust on everything. The fridge was empty, but the door was propped open and the power to it was off, as was the power to the light switches. After checking every room, Bucky was convinced that the house had sat empty for a long time. Coming out the door, he motioned to Taylor to unlock the vehicle.

"It seems clear," he said. "No power but I'll check to see if it was turned off at the panel. We'll bring the sleeping bags to sleep in, and the camping lanterns if I can't get the power to run."

Together they took some of the food, their clothing, weapons, and the sleeping bags inside. Bucky went back out and switched the vehicle's position closer to a door at the back of the house, in case they couldn't get out the front door. Using one of the camping lanterns he went down to the cellar and found the electrical panel. It was turned off, so he flipped every switch over.

"The lights work!" yelled Taylor from upstairs.

He nodded to himself, then turned on a light switch down there and double checked the cellar. Like the rest of the house, there was no sign of anyone being there for some time, making him wonder if any HYDRA stragglers had already cleaned it out of weapons and cash. Searching the walls for any signs he noticed a shelving unit and stood in front of it, noticing it had a backing. Sliding his fingers along the back edge he found a small depression and pressed it. The shelf moved towards him, revealing a storage room behind. Turning on the light he saw there were heavy drop cloths over everything, and pulled them off, revealing an assortment of weapons.

"Jesus, I've never seen that many weapons in one place," said Taylor, who stepped in behind him. "Who left these here?"

"HYDRA," he replied. "They have places like this all over; some documented, some secret. I knew of many of the secret ones because they wanted me out of the public eye and would bring me there after a mission to lay low until it was safe for us to leave." He picked up a Skorpion sub-machine gun, examining it closely. "I remembered being here and actually fired this one. As soon as the mission was complete, I had to hand everything over to my handler."

He took it and some ammunition, then looked for a gun cleaning kit and two sets of noise canceling headphones, handing those to Taylor. Heading back upstairs, he put the gun and kit on the kitchen table, then looked at her.

"Hungry?"

She nodded, but pointed to the tap. "No water."

"Should be a pump out in the yard," he answered. "Have to let it run for a while and the water will taste metallic but it's potable, at least it was. We can boil it to make sure."

He took care of that, coming back ten minutes later with a full pail of water. He looked through the dehydrated camping meals provided for them and picked out an oatmeal one, then found some instant coffee, a small tin of evaporated milk and some sugar. After boiling some water for ten minutes he poured some into the oatmeal package, stirring it with a spoon that was in a package with the food, and filled their camping bowls.  He spooned some coffee into their mugs and poured more water into them. It was quiet as they ate, neither feeling the need to talk. When they were finished, Bucky cleaned the Skorpion while Taylor watched.

"You seem to know what you're doing," she noted.

"I've handled a lot of different firearms," he shrugged. "They're a tool, nothing more. I use them for work, but I don't keep one on me." He grinned slightly. "A knife is a different matter. I always carry one in a custom-made sheath built into my boot." She looked at him questioningly. "It's quiet, better for closeup fighting, and just as deadly for someone that knows how to use it, which I do."

She chuckled and it was his turn to look at her for enlightenment. "That ex I told you about was fixated on guns. He was constantly wanting to go to gun shows and buy the newest thing always saying he was doing it to protect me and the house. I swear that he cared more for them than he did about me. It bothered him that I didn't like having that many guns in the house. Yet, seeing you cleaning this one, and knowing what's sitting in that room below us doesn't seem to bother me like that."

"Did he ever shoot anyone?" Bucky looked directly at her as she shook her head. "I was a sniper in World War II. They called us marksmen but my job with the Howling Commandos was to kill anyone who pointed a gun at Steve Rogers, or any of the other guys on the team. I was good at it, but I didn't like it. Even though I wasn't religious it seemed a sin to kill indiscriminately like that, but it was wartime, and I knew my duty. When HYDRA got their hooks in me, and realized how good I already was, it was like they won the lottery. All those calculations that I needed to work out in my head for trajectory, wind speed, and everything else was so ingrained that all they had to do was add to my arsenal. Every new firearm that came out was brought to me and I was expected to become an expert in it. I couldn't say no or object. It was master it or be punished." He breathed out heavily. "I find that the guys who have never had to pull the trigger on someone are the ones who love their guns the most. Maybe it makes them feel more manly. I never intend to kill anyone when I fire at them but the instinct to make it count is too strong." He looked her in the eyes. "I'm not a killer but I do kill when I have to. Then I try to live with what I've done."

He stopped talking and finished cleaning the gun, reassembling it. Standing up, he gestured to her to follow and went outside with the Skorpion, the Glock he still had in the back of his pants, and ammunition. For the next half hour, he showed her how to fire the Glock, standing behind her and reaching around her to position her hands properly on it, aiming at several signs he found in the barn and propped against the fence. His method was calm and measured, and Taylor found herself appreciative of how he let her take her time before firing. By the end of the half hour, she was able to hit smaller targets, like old oil cans, mason jars, and the odd tin can.

"How are your hands?" He took them in his, gently massaging them. "If you're not used to it your hands can start to feel numb."

"Not bad," she admitted, appreciating how he seemed to look after the little details. She looked at the Skorpion. "Are you going to let me try that?"

"That was my intention," he answered. "You want to give it a try?"

Taylor nodded and he walked her through the parts of it, then let her feel how light it was. He put the larger signs up again, then they put their headphones on, and she fired a short burst. Her first time brought a shriek, then laughter from her which made him smile. Once that was out of her system, she got serious and tried it again. She hit the target on about half the shots before they had to reload. Bucky made some suggestions then let her try again. This time she did better. He didn't bother putting the smaller targets up.

"If you can hit them anywhere in the body, they should go down. I think that's enough for today. I'm going to go back down to the weapons locker and figure out what else to take with us. There should be a safe on either the main or second floor with cash in it. If you could look behind the pictures and see if you can find it, I would appreciate it."

She did find it and when Bucky came up with an armful of weapons to clean, she showed him, then watched, mesmerized, as he bent his head to the safe door and listened to the sounds of the dials inside the safe to unlock it. Inside was more cash, several passports, including some old ones of him and Rumlow, and several printed pages. He looked over them, learning of several more previously undocumented safe houses. They would take the list with them. He burned the passports as they were all expired anyway.

They ate again, choosing a package of beef stew that was decent enough. When it got dark Bucky set up their sleeping bags on the bed in two of the rooms, wrapping the pillows that had been left on the beds in some sheets he found in a linen closet. There were no mice, thank goodness, but he didn't want to take any chances of anything crawling out during the night. During the night, he was awakened by Taylor appearing in the doorway, holding her sleeping bag and pillow in her hand.

"I'm sorry but I'm cold," she whispered. "Can I sleep with you?"

Without answering he opened his sleeping bag up then zipped hers to it. Laying back inside he held the top open while she climbed in, and they zipped the sides up.

"Better?" he asked, as he pulled her towards his body and rested his arm around her.

"Much. You're very warm."

"Yeah, it's a super soldier thing," he replied. "Close your eyes. I'll keep you warm."

They spent three days and nights in the safe house, sharing the same bed for sleeping. On the fourth morning Bucky turned on the radio in the 4Runner and heard an odd news report.

Authorities are still looking for several men who shot up a tailor's shop in New York City. The men are believed to be in Pennsylvania, near the Scranton area, according to federal authorities. Residents in the area are to be on the lookout for anyone in plain clothes identifying themselves as law enforcement. According to spokesperson Detective Wilson of the NYPD they are considered to be armed and dangerous and may be headed towards Philadelphia.

Recognizing it as a planted warning to him, he informed Taylor it was time to go. Within 20 minutes they were on the road.

"Which way are we going?" she asked.

"West," he answered. "Ohio, but I have to get gas first."

Once that was done, he drove through Pennsylvania and most of Ohio for over nine hours, stopping a couple of times for a bathroom break and to pick up food, before he pulled up in front of a motel on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Paying cash for a double room, they took their things inside where Bucky offered the shower to Taylor first. Using the landline in the room while blocking the phone number he called Sam.

"I got your radio message," he said, by way of greeting. "Any updates I should know about?"

"Some informants have confirmed there's a hit out on Miss Hollis," replied Sam. "They know you're with her. The SHIELD agent who impersonated you wasn't exactly up to the task which didn't impress Fury. Plus, there are probably police on their payroll who have been watching for you. There's a bounty out on you, to bring you in alive."

"Let me guess, the Russian bratvas." Bucky ran his hand through his hair. "They worked hand in hand with HYDRA when it suited them. Well, we'll stay mobile and hopefully avoid them until I can get them into an area where no one else gets hurt."

"How is she handling it?" asked Sam.

"Not bad," he replied. "I like her. I've taught her to shoot. She's a pretty calm person considering what she's been through already."

"Alright, we'll try to insert more coded messages in the radio broadcasts if it looks like they're congregating in an area," said Sam. "Stay vigilant and let me know when you're close to your destination. I assume it’s western Kansas.”

"You know me too well," smirked Bucky, hanging up.

The bathroom door opened to Taylor in sleepwear with a towel wrapped around her head. He grabbed some things from his bag and took his turn, coming out to her watching TV. Sitting on the other bed he gestured to the screen.

"What are you watching?"

"Old movie, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly," she answered. "Clint Eastwood."

"Don't think I've seen that," said Bucky. "Any good?"

"Kind of, in a weird way," she answered. "It's called a spaghetti western because it was an Italian production, filmed in Spain, about the old West, done in a very stylized method. There were three movies in all, and they made Clint Eastwood a star. Everyone knows the music as parts of it have been used in all sorts of different commercials, TV shows, and even other movies."

He watched for a while, then grinned at Taylor when the distinctive music played during a scene. Leaning back against the headboard, he watched the movie, scoffing at some of the scenes in it. It was quite ridiculous, but he could see the appeal to others. They slept in their separate beds, then headed out right after breakfast after he told her what Sam had revealed.

For the next week they alternated between a couple of days in a safe house, then a night in a motel to shower, always listening to the news on the radio for the next message from Sam. They even did their laundry in a rundown laundromat that was out in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. As they drove through Kansas, Taylor sat with her feet pulled up onto the car seat and turned so she could lean against the door.

"Don't you get tired of driving?"

Bucky shrugged. "There were times I was up three days straight waiting for my target to show up. Falling asleep would get me punished. At least driving gives me something to do." He gestured towards the windshield. "Besides, we're seeing America."

"Maybe you could do it with your girlfriend sometime." She looked steadily at him. "Is there someone?"

"No, there's no one," he answered. "I'm not prime boyfriend material."

"Why do you say that?" Bucky shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Hey, we've shared a bed platonically. I think I'm beyond being a person to protect. I like to think that we've become friends." His mouth was clamped shut but she could see a muscle twitch on his jaw. "Ah, we're not even that in your eyes." She turned back to looking forward out of the windshield. "Forget I said anything."

A few miles up Bucky pulled into a rest stop, then turned off the ignition. He got out, went over to her side of the vehicle, and opened it, offering her his hand. Not letting go he took her over to a stand of trees that provided some shade. Sitting down on a bench while he still held her hand, he studied her face carefully.

"I do like you, more than like," he said gently. "It's been hard for me to keep my mind on my mission, which is to protect you from harm. I have issues, a lot of emotional baggage from the years I spent as a prisoner. Around you, I feel better, and it becomes easy to think of us as something more. There have been times when I've wanted to wrap you up in my arms, kiss you like I want to kiss you, then to share a bed with you in a very non-platonic way. But I can't, not while those guys are still out there, looking for us. If I do give in to what I really want, then my focus is divided, and it could end up costing us." He caressed the side of her face, then kissed her lightly but with enough feeling behind it for her to know he was being truthful. "When this is over, we can decide where we want this to go."

She gazed up into his blue eyes. He was right. Still holding hands, they returned to the 4Runner, and kissed again, before getting inside. After another day of driving, he turned onto a dirt road, following it for several miles until he turned off onto another road. A barely legible sign pointed towards an upcoming town. When they got to its outskirts he stopped and turned off the 4Runner, stepping out and walking forward a little, placing his hands on his hips. Taylor joined him, squinting her eyes in the bright sun.

"What is it?" she asked. "Why are we here?"

He took out his cell phone and shook his head at there being no signal. It meant he would have to use the GPS locator to bring in help. There was little to no cover, not for them and not for the people who were tracking them.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you," he said, still looking out over the still and desolate landscape. "The thing about having a corrupt Marshal on your payroll is that he usually isn't the only one. Russian bratvas have put a bounty on taking me alive, just as the Umberto family have put out a hit on you. They have corrupt officers all over the place who have been reporting our location to them as we drove. I tried to stay clear of populated areas because they don't care who else they hurt when they're after someone, so I've been leading them here. It's a ghost town but there is a HYDRA facility here. You'll be safe inside while I deal with them."

"By yourself?" She touched his arm. "Why would you go after them yourself?"

He smiled sadly at her. "It's what I do. But once I'm out there I want you to press a button on this." He showed her the GPS locator. "It will bring help and hopefully get you to safety." She looked at it in his hand, not wanting to take it. "I told you that my mission is to protect you from harm. The only way I can do that is to get them all in the same place then go after them and hunt them down. Believe it or not, the odds are in my favour."

"I don't believe it," she snorted, stepping back. "You're one man. How many are you expecting?"

"Dozen, maybe more."

"Bucky, what if you get hurt or killed?"

He smiled at her and caressed her face. "I'm too valuable to kill but I might get hurt. They really don't know my capabilities, especially when I'm motivated. Come on, we need to get ready for them."

He drove the 4Runner to a large rundown building, stopping in front of a garage door. Under a flap on the frame was a keypad. Noticing the wear on the number pads he entered a number, but it didn't open. Once more he tried but it didn't work again. With a sigh, he used his knife to pry off the number pad covering and pulled two wires out, connecting them. A grinding noise signified the door opening but it stopped halfway, and he had to push it up the rest of the way himself. It dropped down a little, so he looked inside the garage for a piece of steel to prop it open. Then he drove the vehicle inside.

After finding the electrical panel he flipped the rest of the switches on, hearing Taylor confirm that the lights worked. While she made something to eat, he searched for the weapons locker. He noted a door marked as the Operations Centre, then saw a door marked Treatment Room which made him pause. As he opened it, he immediately relived everything that ever happened in that room. He flashed back to when he was last here, in this particular base, being wiped then programmed for a mission in Denver. Rumlow had done terrible things to him before wiping him, then taunted him about it afterwards.

"Bucky, are you alright?" Taylor's voice drew him out of his memories. She came further into the room, looking at the memory processing machine with trepidation. "What is this place?"

"This is where they erased me, then programmed me for my missions," he replied, after a moment.

"They hurt you here," she stated. "I can see it on your face. Does anyone else know about this place?"

"No, just Sam, me, and you."

"Then we destroy it. All of it, so no one can use it again."

He looked at her with fondness then nodded, turned around and left. She closed the door behind them. With a promise to come up to eat as soon as he found the weapons locker she left him to continue his search. Ten minutes later he brought a large box up, filled with an assortment of items. Serving out the food, she watched as he ate while he took the things out and laid them on the table.

"We're going to make IEDs," he said. "Bury them in the roadways into town. It will take out their vehicles and maybe a few of them at the same time. Then I'm going to clean some weapons and place them in various hiding places throughout the town. I'll leave you the Skorpion, a Glock and plenty of ammunition. You'll stay here and if anyone tries to get in you shoot them."

"Anyone?"

"Unless they're Avengers," he grinned. "Don't shoot them."

They worked until after midnight assembling IEDs and Taylor began to fall asleep as she sat at the table.

"Come on," said Bucky, picking her up in his arms. "Bedtime for you."

She snuggled into his arms as he carried her to an interior room with a cot. Noticing it was a single, she looked at him drowsily.

"You're not going to sleep with me?"

"No, I have work to do," he answered. "Don't worry, you'll be safe." Kneeling down as he tucked her into the sleeping bag, he stroked her hair. Then he kissed her forehead. "I'll check in on you later."

Turning off the light, he left the door open a little then went back to the assembled IEDs. Carefully, he put the first one in the treatment room, using a timer on it set for later in the day. The rest of them were placed in a box, then he put their detonators in another container. Carrying both to the 4Runner, he placed them in the back then drove to each end of the single road in town, using the camping shovel to dig a hole for them by the beam of the headlights. He placed them in random spots so that it would slow them down. With precision, he inserted the detonator then used his hands to cover them up with the dirt. When that was done, he looked to the east, and saw the ribbon of orange along the horizon, realizing that sunrise was on its way. This had taken longer than he estimated, and he still had to put weapons in hiding places. There was no time to clean any from the weapons locker so it would have to be the ones he already had. Driving back to the HYDRA base he grabbed the weapons bag and some duct tape that he picked up along the way. At each building he taped two guns in a hidden location, placing them methodically in spots up and down the street of the ghost town. When that was done, he looked to the east again then at his watch. Sunrise was in an hour. Perhaps he would have time for a catnap.

Returning to the base, he removed the piece of steel from where it propped up the door and pulled it down, then jammed the steel into the bottom, keeping it from being opened from the outside. Turning off the lights, he used a camping lantern to find the room where Taylor was and toed his boots off, climbing onto the cot behind her. She whimpered a little, but he shushed her and stroked her hair as he spooned her from behind. Then he closed his eyes and listened to her breathing, falling asleep quickly.

It was the sound of an IED going off that woke both of them. Checking his watch Bucky swore at how late it was. Quickly, he climbed out of the cot and put his boots on then ran to the operations room, turning on the surveillance cameras there. Taylor joined him. The sun was well up showing everything brightly. There was a car burning at the same entrance they came in from. Several cars were behind them, with more people stepping out, to survey the scene. Switching to the other side of town, he saw several more vehicles there, waiting. No one got out of them until a big man stepped out with a machine gun and sprayed the roadway in front of them with bullets. Remarkably, he didn't hit a single IED and walked confidently forward, stepping directly on one of the hidden bombs.

"Don't look," said Bucky, turning Taylor around. "It's not pretty. They'll be more cautious now."

"What do we do?"

"I give them a target," he said. They went back to the kitchen, and he put the GPS locator in her hand. "You lock yourself in the operations centre with the Glock and Skorpion. As soon as you see me on the screen you press that button. Then watch what happens. You'll know when it's safe to come out. If anyone tries to break down the door you wait until you see them then shoot at them with the Skorpion using short bursts."

Bucky went to the 4Runner and took out his combat gear. With a shrug, he stripped down to his briefs then put his tactical suit on, before putting the last of his weapons into their holsters and sheaths. Then he cupped her face, kissed her lightly on the cheek and headed over to a ladder that led up to the roof. Climbing up, he went out a door at the top and left her alone in the building. She went back to the operations centre, locked the door, and checked all the different screens until she saw him appear on the one screen, heading towards the centre of town. Pressing the button on the GPS locator she watched Bucky do what he did best. The strange thing was, is that she wasn't afraid for him anymore. The way he walked and looked showed he knew exactly what he was doing.

Out on the street, Bucky strode to where he was visible to both groups of men at each end of town.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He shouted out. "I'm here, come and get me."

As they came out of their vehicles he shot at them, taking fire in return. After hitting two of their men, he ran towards the nearest building, making his way to the roof and firing on them from there. They scattered, taking cover and he jumped onto the lower roof of the next building, then down to the ground, hitting someone who came out from behind his cover. The sound of an IED at the other end distracted the intruders and Bucky ran right past them, firing until he was out of ammunition. Sliding into one of his hiding spots, he pulled the duct tape off the two guns there and waited to see what the others would do first.

The Russians were yelling instructions to each other making him shake his head as they were revealing their next moves to him. Standing up, he fired at two of them before they got under cover, sending them down, then he ran behind the building towards another, coming to the corner of the structure. Taking a peek drew some fire so he ran back to where he had been, hoping they would draw closer to where he had peeked out. Sure enough, two were approaching his old position and he shot at the back of their knees, crippling them. Running towards them he stopped to give each man a punch, knocking them out, then took their guns, slinging them over his shoulder.

As he ran across the street he heard a gunshot, then felt the burning in his leg, ignoring it as he reached the safety of another one of the gun hiding places. Grabbing them, he went inside and up the stairs to the second floor, breaking a window so that he could shoot at anyone who approached. A sound behind him made him turn and he fired, killing the man who didn't have time to fire first. Listening carefully, he heard a creak on the landing and repositioned himself to just inside the door. When he saw the gun he pulled the man into the room, throwing him against the wall and aiming his shots into his knees before punching him senseless. As he was taking his gun, he noticed the man was wearing a comms piece and pulled it out, putting it into his own ear. There was a mixture of Russian and English on the channel, as the two sides were obviously working together.

"Where's the girl?" asked someone.

"Don't know," said another. "He just appeared in the middle of the street."

"You and Patterson check each building. She has to be hiding here somewhere."

Then he heard another voice. "What the fuck? What is that? Take cover!"

With a grin, he realized a portal had opened and Sam was likely flying in. Striding over to the window he saw both Sam and Joaquin, swooping down and firing at anything that moved. They were followed by the quinjet which hovered just above the ground releasing Kate, Yelena, Shaun, Scott, and Hope. It went back up in the air and began targeting the other vehicles, destroying them so the intruders had no means of escape. The chatter on the comms pieces died out until he heard an explosion and a sentence that chilled him.

"Found her."

Racing down the rickety stairs he ran towards the HYDRA building, then heard several short bursts of shots from inside. The garage door had a hole blown into it. Crawling through the hole he approached the operations room, the door ominously open but badly damaged. He listened carefully, finally hearing the sound of someone crying.

"Taylor?"

"In here."

Her voice was strained. Slowly, he approached the door, then he saw the two men on the floor, both dead. She sat in a chair, still holding the Skorpion submachine gun. He removed his guns and approached, kneeling in front of her.

"I had no choice," she whispered. "They blew the door, and I just fired in short bursts like you taught me. They went down and didn't move." She looked at him with reddened eyes. "Are they dead?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, they're dead," he answered, then he put his hands on the Skorpion and took it, putting it aside. "But you're alive and they're not going to come after you again. Come on."

He helped her up, keeping his arm around her as they left the room and went to the garage area. He took a moment to raise the garage door manually, putting the steel piece back into place to keep it open. They both came out into the blazing sun, then heard the sound of wings above them. Taylor cowered against him.

"It's okay," he said, holding her closer. "It's Sam."

Lightly, Sam landed and looked appraisingly at Bucky. "You were supposed to let me know when you got here."

"No cell service," replied Bucky. "It's a ghost town for a reason. Who's flying the quinjet?"

Sam smiled. "Clint. He was visiting."

"There are several IEDs at each end of town that haven't been activated yet. He should probably explode them before the authorities get here. Patterson is dead. Taylor shot him in self-defence."

"Well, there are others who are still alive and we have enough evidence to link them to the Umberto family and the bratvas. I don't think they'll come after Taylor or you, anymore. We also tracked their phone calls and found the police officers who were passing on your location to them. Uncovered quite a few, so Fury's happy about that." He noticed Bucky's leg. "You get shot?"

"Just grazed. It'll heal on its own."

Sam passed on the information about the IEDs to Clint and they soon heard explosions as he used the aircraft's sensors to locate them. When FBI helicopters and vehicles began arriving, Bucky took Taylor back inside, making her sit while he brought her some water. She was better but still quiet for some time.

"Bucky? Is it like that for you all the time?"

"No, not like this," he replied. "It's been a long time since I took on this many people on my own."

She nodded then spoke in a small voice. "I killed two men."

"Yeah, you defended yourself. They would have killed you."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

She ran from where she sat but didn't make it to the bathroom, landing on her knees just outside the door, dry heaving. Bucky kneeled behind her, rubbing her back, then drew her into his arms when she began to cry again.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay."

"Can we go now? I don't want to stay here anymore."

"Let me check. Why don't you pack your bag, and I'll come for you."

Nodding her head, she allowed him to help her up and take her to the room where she slept. He left her then noticed Yelena and asked her to watch Taylor while he checked on some things. When he found the FBI agent in charge, they discussed Bucky taking her back to Avengers Tower. Discussed, as in had an argument over who had jurisdiction. Fortunately, for them, Fury was listening in and pulled rank, claiming that Taylor Hollis was placed in the custody of the Avengers and would stay in their custody until she appeared in court. As the FBI agent ordered his men to search the building Bucky shook his head.

"You don't want to be here any longer than you have to," he began, then looked at his watch. "In about an hour, this building is going to blow up. There is nothing here that should be of interest to you or to anyone else. I'm taking my things, my vehicle, and Taylor out of here. I would suggest you do the same." The man stared at him. "Did I say an hour? I meant twenty minutes, I think, but I didn't check my watch when I set the charge."

Bucky didn't wait for his response but did pack his bags. Then he found Taylor and together they went to the 4Runner. After driving it out of the building he stopped at where he hid the rest of his weapons, adding them back into his arsenal. When the last one was packed away, he pulled up to the quinjet where the other Avengers were waiting.

"Tell Fury that we'll be back in about a week, maybe ten days. Taylor needs the time to decompress."

"You'll need this," said Sam, reaching into one of his flying suit pockets and pulling out a smartphone. "Stay in touch."

Bucky took it then looked over at the HYDRA building, noticing there were still FBI agents going into it. "Tell him that I wasn't kidding. That place is rigged to go up. They had a functioning treatment room, Sam. There was no way I was going to leave it intact."

"I'll tell them," he replied, then he looked at Taylor. "You'll be okay. Bucky will help you. Take your time and stay at some nice places."

She smiled wanly, then he and Bucky shook hands before he stepped back, letting the vehicle pass by them. As they drove out of the ghost town, Bucky reached out to Taylor's hand, grasping it in his.

"Wherever you want to go I'll drive there. We really don't have a timeline now. It's just you and me."

For several miles she said nothing, then she looked over at Bucky.

"Can we go to Iowa? I want to see the Field of Dreams."

"You mean, like the movie? The baseball diamond?" She nodded. He reached for his smartphone and handed it to her. "Find it for me."

She looked it up, an almost 13 hour drive non-stop.

"We can stay overnight in Kansas City," suggested Taylor. "It's a 6 ½ hour drive from there, closes at 6 pm."

"Sounds like a plan," smiled Bucky. He reached out for her hand and squeezed it. "Why don't you find a nice place to stay?"

"One bed or two?"

"Whichever you want," he answered.

When they pulled up to the premium motel in Kansas City, and presented themselves at the counter, Bucky gave his name for their reservation for a single room, king-sized bed. The clerk asked how long they were staying.

"Two, maybe three nights," answered Taylor, before Bucky could say anything. "We've been on the road for a while and need to relax." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "Is that okay, honey?"

He squeezed her back. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." As he signed the register, he looked at the clerk. "Two things. Can you keep our presence here quiet? Do you have room service?"

The clerk glanced at the name again, recognizing it.

"Yes, sir, we'll make sure you have your privacy. Room service goes until midnight. There's a menu in your room. We also have liquor delivery, if you're interested."

Bucky smiled at him, then took the key cards. At the door to their room, he stopped, looking at Taylor in a very non-platonic way. She took the key card, held it to the reader and entered the room, immediately putting the Do Not Disturb sign outside on the door handle. No one at the motel saw either of them until an order for room service and liquor was made an hour before the midnight deadline. Bucky answered the door wrapped only in a towel, gave the two delivery people a big cash tip then disappeared back into the room. They looked at each other, having noticed the perfect physique and metal arm, then returned to the lobby, where they were warned again about keeping quiet. Considering what Bucky gave them for a tip, it was the least they could do.

One Shots Masterlist

[shara97digital]

Well i Guess this is like My spidersona. Doesnt has quite a name yet but i am working on it.

So far is not Peter and he wasnt bite by a radioactivo spider. Doesnt has Powers at all because he uses tecnilogy instead.

His Main gadget are the gauntlet who allow hin to unleash a powefull force and the adherent properties. As web uses the nano wire Made by Oscorp with some tiny modifications.

[1-800-teax]

Battle Scars

Avenger!Loki AU

Loki x fem!reader

A/N: Reader has powers similar to Wanda’s.

Avengers Compound - October 17th, 2023

Tensions are high from literally traveling through time and losing Natasha.

You stand off to the side, in deep thought as everyone stands around waiting for the glove to be finished.

You sniffle quietly to yourself when you feel the presence of Loki creep up beside you.

You could hear the sound of my lips parting in hesitation as he tries to find the right words.

Loki finally settles on a simple, “Are you okay?”. With his gentle voice.

Not feeling confident enough to use your voice just yet, you hum in response.

You suck in a deep breath before snapping out of your thoughts and turning your head towards a concerned looking Loki as you give him your best reassuring smile.

You know he doesn’t believe it, he knows you better than that. But maybe your just trying to convince yourself.

“Let’s just get this over with.” You say softly, after clearing your sore ‘from holding in your tears’ throat.

You step away from the corner just as Rocket says, “Alright, the gloves ready.”

“Question is how’s gonna snap their freaking fingers?” He says looking up at all of us.

“I’ll do it.” Thor says volunteering himself, as he steps towards it.

“Excuse me?” Rhodey says besides me.

“Woah, Woah.”

“Thor, Thor. Just wait we haven’t decided who’s gonna out that on yet.” Steve tells him, stopping him from getting closer to it.

“Oh, I’m sorry we’re all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity.” Thor says with a slightly shaky voice.

“We should at least discuss it.” Scott reasons.

“Look look, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I’m the strongest avenger. Okay? So, this responsibility falls on me.” Thor states.

Protest are being spoken over each other.

“Hold on, hold on-” Tony tells Thor backing him up slightly.

“Stop it! Let me do this. Let me do something good. Something right-” Thor starts emotionally, then Tony cuts him off.

“That thing is channeling enough energy to light up a continent. You’re in no condition-” Tony is then cut off by Thor.

“What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?” Thor asks him.

“Cheese Whiz?”

“Beer?” Rhodey and I say at the same time, both agreeing with each other.

Thor flashes an irritated look your way.

“Lightening.” He says turning back towards Tony, trying to convince him.

You roll your eyes in annoyance and notice Bruce stepping up to the gauntlet.

“Lightening won’t help you, pal. It’s gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him. None of you could survive.” Bruce tells all of you.

“And, how do we know you can?” Steve asks.

“We don’t. But the radiation’s mostly gamma.”

“It’s like I was made for this.” Bruce finishes.

Silence over takes the group until i speak up with a nod, “Okay. Let’s do this and hope it works.”

Everyone nods.

I walk back towards Loki, who has been quiet this whole time.

“Good to go?” Tony asks Bruce.

“Let’s do it.” He replies.

“Okay, remember, everyone Thnos snapped away five years ago, you’re just bringing them back… to today.” Tony tells him.

“Don’t change anything from the last five years.” You add.

Bruce nods, preparing himself as we do the same.

You look around to see Steve holding his shield up as cover, Scott deploying his helmet, Rocket hiding behind Thor with Tony using his nano shield to cover himself and Clint as Rhodey gears up.

You take a step up from Loki, so he is behind you as you use your powers to conjuring shield around you both.

Tony initiates a special protocol that has all the doors slamming shut and the widows closed.

“Everybody’s coming home…” Bruce mumbles out, under his breath.

You suck in a deep breath as watch Bruce slowly slip his hand in the glove.

Everything was fine until, suddenly he spams, groaning and grunting in pain.

You cringe, having to look away from your friend in pain.

Protest are spewing out, telling Bruce to take off the glove.

“Take to me, Banner.” Tony shouts out over the protests.

“I’m…okay…” You all hear Bruce pant out.

You turn your head back to him, just in time to see him snap his fingers.

Bruce cries out as a blinding white light flashes you all.

As quickly as the flash of light came, its gone again.

Bruce then falls to the ground, grunting, groaning and heaving in pain.

“Bruce!” Steve and I both call out, worriedly.

“Don’t move him.” Tony quickly says as you, along with Loki, Rocket, Rohdey, and Steve immediately rush to Bruce’s aid.

That is when you notice Bruce’s once strong, green-colored arm is discolored and withered.

“Good job, Bruce. You did good.” You breathe out, giving him a small smile.

Tony uses some cooling spray on Bruce’s arm but Bruce isn’t worried about that.

He grips onto my arm, looking desperately into my eyes.

“Did it work?” He asks.

You are taken aback by his question, and slightly scared to know the answer to it.

Being so worried about him, made you forget why he did it in first place.

But before you can answer the sound of a cell phone buzzing catches your ears.

You watch carefully as Clint stalks up to the phone and picks it up.

“Honey?” He answers.

You look up at Loki with a hopeful look on your face until a large shadow catches your attention.

You squint your eyes and notice a space ship of some sort heading directly towards all of you.

You try to warn everyone but its too late, as the object hits the compound causing the compound to collapse in itself.

You scream out as you fall underground, desperatly trying to hold onto piece of the ground as it caves in.

As you’re falling you feel something wedge into your lower right hip resulting in all of the wind getting knocked out of you.

Your backs hits a stable piece of concrete with much force, earning a loud groan.

You feel droplets of water fall onto you, you look down to see water quickly filling up around you.

Panic starts to set in and the pain gets slightly worse.

You let out a scream out of pure fear, alerting anyone near you.

"Y/n?!" You hear someone call out to you.

Your breath hutches in your throat, “Rhodey?" You call back.

"Yeah." he answers.

You let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" he asks you.

"No...I have a large piece of glass in my hip." You say with a slight whimper.

You hear him curse.

"Alright, Y/n I want you to heal yourself." You hear Bruce instruct you.

"Okay!" You shout wincing at the pain the small action caused you.

You take a deep breath, trying to heal yourself but your hand hits something on the side of you.

You prepare yourself before turning your head.

All of the color drains from your face as you see an unconsious Loki with blood flowing out of a cut on his lip, out of his nose and a gash on his forehead.

You gasp and quickly turn onto your side which causes you a great deal of pain allowing more blood to flow out of the huge glass shard wound. You let out a cry as tears spill from your eyes.

"Y/n?!" Bruce and Rhodey shouts out.

"It's Loki, he-he's unconcious. Do you think he..." You start to say and trail off with fear very clear in your voice.

"Y/n, don't worry about that, just try to wake him up." Rhoday says.

You take deep breaths before returning your focus on Loki again.

"Loki!" You say continuously as you repeatedly nudge him.

"Loki! Get up!" You say despesteratly and slap his face with a bit of force.

Loki jolts up with a large intake of air.

You sigh in relief, falling onto concrete out of exhastion.

You place your right hand next to your wound and your left on your head as you try to keep your breathing steady.

"Y/n?" he asks.

"Hey, my love." You breath out as you feel the water start to get higher.

Your eyes droop and you try to stay consicous but the pain is too much.

Loki tries to say something to you but you are already consumed by the darkness hidden beneath your eyelids.

***

You jolt up suddenly and into someones arms.

You suck in all the air you could and try of focus on all of your senses.

You feel a powerful surge of energy coursing through you.

"Y/n!" You hear the person say.

You look up and see that it's Loki holding you up.

"Loki!" You say shock evident in your voice.

"My love, the water is getting higher. I need you to heal yourself." he says worriedly and you see a hint of fear in his eyes.

You nod and he releases his arms from around you, carefully.

You hold yourself up weakly and start to heal yourself.

Your gold colored healing powers fail to heal you.

"I-I can't heal myself." You stutter out in fear.

"What?" Loki asks fearfully as well.

"I think you need to take out the glass." You mumble out shakily.

You lean back and let Loki straddles your legs.

Loki sighs shakily before placing both of his hands on the glass, ready to rip it out.

"Ready?" he asks.

You suck in a deep breath and close your eyes as you nod, wincing for the inevitable amount of pain about to hit you.

Loki waits a few seconds making you open your eyes to ask him what's going on when he rips it out.

You let out a scream so loud your throat burns before slapping your hand over your mouth.

Your body instantly tries to curl up from the pain but can't because Loki's still on top of you.

You cry out in pain and place weak punches on Loki's stomach, trying to channel your pain somewhere else.

"I know, my love. I know. I'm so sorry." He says guilty with tears in his eyes.

You bite down on your wrist as another flash of pain washes over you and more tears spill.

"You have to heal yourself." Loki says cupping your face in his hands.

You nod slightly as your eyes turn golden again, feeling the magic surging out of your hands.

You move your hands around your wound, feeling it start to heal, soon enough the wound was fully healed with no traces of pain, only a small battle scar.

Your breathing was heavy, hands shaky and full of blood.

You try to catch your breath as Loki rubs your arm while getting off of you.

"You did it." he says.

You nod tiredly.

Just then you notice the water is way higher than you realize.

"We have to try get to Rhodey and Bruce." You say.

Loki nods and you both slip off of the wall you were on, swimming through debris towards where you had heard Bruce and Rhodey.

"Bruce! Rhodey! Rocket?" You ask as you and Loki reach them.

"Glad to see you both, okay." Rhodey says to us as we climb up onto the wall he and Rocket are on.

Soon enough more water starts to flood to where its to your necks.

You feel Loki grip your hand in the water.

You look at him fearfully chin wobbling as you try not to cry.

Loki pulls you into him, kissing you like its the last time. And it very well may be.

"I'm sorry." he says once you both pull away.

You shake your head and rest your forhead against his.

You let out a sob and pull him back into a kiss.

You pull apart slowly, preparing to go under when we were lifted up into the air.

You thank God with a relived laugh.

You all get put down and Scott's hand opens up to reveal everyone has come back.

You all jump out and you gasp gripping tightly onto Loki's hand.

You let go of Loki's hand, he takes out his daggers and you allow your powers to surge from your hands.

You watch as every Avenger turn to Thano's arm ready.

"Avengers...Assemble!" Steve says.

There were many battle cries as you all run off into battle.

[keerysfreckles]

saving you - peter parker

pairing: tom!peter x stark!reader

warnings: use of y/n, she/her, swearing, mentions of blood and fighting (scenes used from endgame)

a/n: i love peter parker sm i just HAD to write another blurb (also for my bexi boo mwah)

-

y/n never thought she'd fight a giant purple alien from space, let alone fighting him twice. five years ago she was on titan fighting the alien, then she blipped, alongside half of the world.

five years later she's on the same planet fighting the same purple asshole.

herself and others all came out of different sized portals created by doctor strange. y/n walked out with peter parker, her best friend. she looked around, seeing the army of avengers, ready to fight the battle.

her and peter, and everyone else, got in their positions as they heard steve, "avengers. assemble."

and with those two words, the team of most likely one hundred people ran towards thanos' army.

sam and valkyrie ended up in the sky at some point during the battle, while everyone else mostly stayed on the ground. scott turned huge again since the fight in germany, and immediately started stomping on the evil aliens.

the rest of the avengers started fighting the aliens that remained on the ground. bucky snd rocket shooting them together, with groot branching his arms through the aliens' bodies.

y/n and peter never left each others side as they ran towards the battle. the avengers' goal was to get tony's gaunlet away from thanos once it had all six infinity stones in it. all they had to do was get thanos' gaunlet, easy.

ten minutes pass and most of the avengers are injured while lying on the ground, the only few remaining are tony, steve, thor, peter, y/n, clint, valkyrie and pepper.

dealing with the team of eight they have, they create a plan to beat thanos.

"y/n, sweetheart i know you can fight and i know you can fight well," tony starts, placing his hands on his daughters shoulders, "but i need you to run away, i don't want you anywhere near here when we get the stones, capisce?"

a concerned look shows up on y/n's face, "what? dad, no, i'm not just leaving you guys here. let me he-"

y/n got cut off by tony hugging her, followed by pepper hugging her as well.

the family of three backed up from each other. tony looked back to the rest of the remaining avengers, giving y/n the signal to walk away.

yes, she was going to walk away from the problem, but as she saw her father, and peter start running towards thanos she knew she couldn't just watch.

taking out the ninja stars she has in her suit, she throws them at thanos' wrist to try and get his gaunlet off.

"what- y/n! i told you to run!" tony yells from inside his suit, while blasting thanos.

"i told you, i'm not just leaving you guys!" y/n yells.

tony backs away slightly, before finding clint with the red iron man gauntlet. tony takes it from him and passes it to peter. "peter run!" tony yells before going back to fight with thanos.

y/n watches as peter runs from thanos with her dad's gaunlet.

peter runs as fast as he can before he gets knocked down into a pile of rubble. a giant blue and yellow beam comes down in front of him.

"hi- hello," peter stutters to the blonde woman, "i'm peter parker."

"well peter parker," the woman starts, "you have something for me?"

peter nods as he hands her tony's gaunlet before she flies off.

peter stands up from the rubble, and watches in shock as y/n is on thanos' shoulders trying to fight him.

"y/n!" he yells as he watches thanos throw the poor girl at least 100 yards away. peter immediately runs after to look for her, "um- mr. stark, sir i'm going to try and find y/n."

"oh you better find my daughter alive parker," tony grumbles into the teams shared intercoms.

finally seeing the sight of y/n rolled over onto her side, holding her stomach, peter removes the nano-tech mask from his face.

he rolls y/n over to see the girl with dust and small marks of blood on her face. "hey, hey y/n you gotta wake up. your dad's gonna kill me if you don't," peter laughs, shaking the girl.

"cmon, please wake up."

tears brim peter's eyes, seeing the girl he's fallen in love with get hurt right in front of his eyes.

the only thought going through the boys mind was that he never got to tell her how he felt.

as he talked on his com, his voice was weak. "mr- mr stark i need help! she isn't waking up!"

tony's heart rate drops. disregarding the giant purple alien in front of him, he flies over to where he saw peter run off to. he flies down to the ground to be met with an unconscious y/n in peter's arms.

"friday, read y/n's vitals," tony instructs his ai.

"vitals steady. oxegyn decreased 20%. heartbeat decreased 10%."

"shit," tony mumbles. "you stay with her kid, i have to beat this asshole," he gestures back to thanos. "keep her alive!" tony yells as he flies back to the main fight going on.

peter looks down at y/n again, still with tears threatening to spill over. "y/n," his voice cracks, "please don't leave me."

the tears mentioned before finally spill, leaving peter's cheeks hot and lips trembling. he leans down and presses his lips to hers, while holding her jaw in his hand.

"please, please, please," peter kept mumbling against her lips, tears not decreasing in pace.

peter notices y/n start breathing heavier, he starts shaking her again. "hey, hey cmon, y.n wake up. i cant lose you, i just can't y/n."

peter sighs, "i love you."

y/n starts coughing slightly, before rolling over onto her hands and knees and coughing more than before.

peter immediately starts rubbing his hand up and down her back, "hey, thatta girl," he laughs slightly, glad she's okay, "cough it all up."

"oh my god," y/n gasps, before sitting on her knees on the ground.

"are you okay?" peter asks, keeping his hand on her lower back. y/n only nods, while peter places a kiss on the top of the girls head.

"i love you too," y/n whispers after leaning her head against peter's shoulder.

breaking away from each other, the two teenagers turn around to see a giant multicolored beam shoot up into the sky, yet the two didn't see thanos with the gaunlet at all.

y/n gasps lightly, before running to where the others were. peter followed after, "no, no, no," y/n keeps mumbling to herself as they got closer to the rest of the team.

peter got in front of y/n, incase anything was a threat to them. y/n couldn't see what was going on, but she saw the group surrounding someone lying on the floor.

she looked around, not seeing her father anywhere. a thousand thoughts flooded the girls' mind.

she heard peter talk to someone, but his words were muffled as her brain wouldn't let her think the worst possible solution happened.

pepper holds peter in her arms, comforing the boy, which left a small pathway for y/n to go through.

"dad," y/n whispers, jogging to her father who was leaning against a piece of a broken ship. "dad hey, cmon, get up. we have to go back home."

y/n grabs his hand as she starts crying, she couldn't hold her tears back any longer.

tony looks up at his daughter weakly before placing his other hand on the side of her face, "tell parker he better take good care of you," tony says weakly, making y/n nod and smile softly.

tony leans up with the rest of the energy he has left and kisses y/n's cheek. y/n and the rest of the group watch as tony leans back against the broken ship, and see his arc reactor light dim.

"no, no, no, no," y/n keeps mumbling tapping on the arc reactor.

her heart drops when the light fully turns off. everything around her goes quiet as she leans her forehead on her fathers chest.

this was it. she'd never see him again. never talk to him again. never tell him how her first day of senior year was. never tell him how amazing her first date with peter went. nothing.

pepper lets go of peter to go bid tony a final goodbye. peter helps y/n up off of her father and immediately holds her head to his own chest.

he tries his best to calm her down by cooing to her.

"shhh."

"it'll all be okay."

"you're so strong, you're going to get through this."

"i'll always be here for you."

"i'll always protect you y/n."

y/n lifts her head to look peter in the eyes. "you better not leave me parker," y/n kisses his cheek.

"never in a million years," the boy replies, holding the girl close to him, kissing the top of her head again.

[drkineildwicks]

More BH6

Been working more on the sequel to (Not So) Hated by Life Itself this past weekend (read it now on FFN and AO3), so have some more art for it.  For those of you just tuning in, the Live and Learn AU involves Obake accidentally being blasted back in time to a little before the events of the movie, as a teenager.  Shenanigans ensue, as they do.

This is one of those traditional art sheets where I fill a page out for my art for the day, polish it up, and then post it.  In this case, it’s all for the sequel, Ready To (Live Life Anew) and is mostly for the vibes.

Starting from the top left:

I learned that March was Noodle Month and it seems like the sort of thing Noodle Burger Boy would celebrate. XD

Mini-Max is always great for filling in a tiny bit of empty space.

Below that, Hiro and Tadashi were really excited to learn about the revival of the Pirates of the Caribbean Online MMO.  Obake is less excited.

To the right of that, Obake is quoting the “Cluelessness” demotivator to Hiro, punctuated by Fred quoting Louis Stevens in the Even Stevens episode “Snow Job” (quote starts here)—yes that is a very young Shia LeBeouf, and that one girl is Christie Carlson Ramono, AKA Kim Possible AKA Trina Aken.

To the right of that…was listening to some videos critiquing the Jurassic World series (as they should) and one guy was saying how genomes are not the same as genetic code…since Obake is taking a few Bio classes in the sequel it seems like the thing both he and Karmi would say, to everyone’s annoyance.

Below the PIRATES!! one is Gogo taking Obake out to birdwatch to wind them both down, something that probably takes place after the “Fate of the Roommates” episode when they’re on better terms.

To the right of that—the boys also have a writing class and Hiro has been writing about their escapades in the Pirates MMO for those assignments, here he’s brainstorming Obake’s backstory; Obake is unamused.

To the right of that is something that takes place in the “Supersonic Sue” episode—Obake and Megan have an antagonistic relationship for most of the fic and right here is right before that falling out starts up.

Bottom left takes place during the “Fred the Fugitive” arc—the Hamada brothers do up some Shadow the Hedgehog shoes for Obake to test, Gogo takes it upon herself to help him learn how to skate.

Bottom right is Hiro testing a combo of Knuckles’ and Vi’s gloves, although they require the nano-dex in order to lift them.

Bottom center…Trina does not need the nano-dex to lift those gauntlets. :O

So.  So far we’re at 381 pages, 155+k words, 27 consecutive chapters, somewhere between a third and halfway through, and I’m once again in the situation I was in last year when I suddenly had the big burst on the first book: stuck on my laptop in the living room because my big computer decided to go blooey.

Hit it.

Big Hero 6 © 2014 Disney

Done in Pencils.

DeviantArt | FanFiction | Tumblr | Etsy | Buy me a Ko-Fi | Patreon | AO3 | Tapas

[psychospore]

Someone Special

A/N: Hello Tumblr Friends! Sorry for the unexpected hiatus but I'm back with a new fic for y'all

If you like this, you might wanna check out my Masterlist for more fics – smutty and fluffy and sometimes a bit angsty

@twhxhck tagging you on my new one :D

Pairing: Avenger!Loki x Y/N

Word count: 1400+

Warnings: mentions of torture, violence, death, fluff, mutual pining etc.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Tony and Steve rescued Y/N from an underwater HYDRA experimentation facility that conducted Human-Animal Splicing Experiments. With a low chance of survival, HYDRA successfully spliced Y/N with a Peacock Mantis Shrimp with the intention of creating advanced weaponry to conquer the world.

The two Avengers rescued Y/N and shut down the system to prevent HYDRA from continuing the program. During Y/N’s rehabilitation in the Avenger’s tower, she has found an expected companion in the form of Loki – who she met while sneaking one night to grab a bite. With her enhanced vision, she was able to surprise Loki that she was able to see him despite his invisibility.

Months of constant interaction made Loki grow fond of Y/N, he is in denial of these growing feelings towards Y/N – thinking it was not a good idea for her to be closer to him given his track record. He grew distant, Y/N noticing this wanted to confront him but had to push it back due to a mission back to the HYDRA laboratory where they found her. Stark gifted Y/N with a full white nano-suit, a long white overcoat, and heavy gauntlets resembling a Peacock Mantis Shrimp’s dactyl limbs.

The Avengers were caught in a pinch when super soldiers cornered them, they were not aware before their mission that HYDRA has developed a serum to temporarily enhance these soldiers with the powers of a cockroach – nasty but freaking resilient despite losing limbs.

Y/N had to fight one of her comrades spliced with the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle, a perfect defense against her, during the mission. Her barrage of power-packed punches destroyed most of the room but barely had any effects on the spliced enemy in front of her. He deflected her attacks and knocked her out with a blow to the stomach, making her cough up blood as she noticed a hole in her caved-in torso.

After being captured, tortured, and injected with the triggering serum to activate her dormant powers – partially transforming into a Peacock Mantis Shrimp as she convulsed in inexplicable pain – red antennae grew from her head, her long brown hair, tainted green with red tips, eyes turned red – to fully activate vision able to see both UV and polarizing light, her whole suit and overcoat turned to fully resemble her spliced animal – gauntlets turning green with gloves turning red, overcoat turning into the green hue with the lower part turning into fan-like segmented carapace-like disks with red edges. Chest and facial plates grew that resemble carapaces partly with the help of the nanobots from the suit.

Unlike her other comrades, Y/N retained a part of her humanity, she ordered the rest of the Avengers – Nat, Steve, Bruce, Thor, and Loki to head back to the ship to assist Tony and Clint who were already busy fending off the 2 Leviathan attacking the Submarine. Loki was hesitant to get back and wanted Y/N to go back with them – their first interaction after Loki decided to avoid her. Y/N assured him that she can handle it so hesitantly Loki followed, fully trusting Y/N’s decision.

Y/N fought her comrade, leaving him immobile before destroying the control panels and drowning the whole laboratory along with the rest HYDRA soldiers. As she escaped, she grabbed a few vials of the Triggering Serum and Antidote to bring back with her but before she could go out, her comrade decided to have one last fight – trapping them both under the rubble of what was left of the facility under the sea.

With the monsters dead after the fight with the rest of the Avengers, Loki hurriedly went to the destroyed building to retrieve Y/N, his biggest fear lingering – the possibility that she might be dead. He saw Y/N’s unconscious body – the lower half trapped underneath the rubble and the upper half submerged in the water. With all his strength, he removed the large rocks and recovered Y/N’s body, and brought it back to the ship.

He feared she might have drowned – he never left her side as she lay on the table, praying that she comes back. And come back she did – she coughed hard, as she comes back to her senses, exhausted from the fight. She smiled at Loki saying that thank goodness she was able to breathe underwater now or else she would have been a goner before passing out again.

Back at the infirmary at the Avenger’s tower, doctors were running around, hooking her up to the many devices to monitor her condition. Loki was worried the whole time as he felt helpless, his healing magic could only do so much. Thor assured him that Y/N will be fine and he needs to believe in her.

The whole week, Y/N was out, and Loki never left her side. The doctors have decided not to inject her with the antidote just yet, thinking her current state would be optimal for her survival – her human form would not be able to take the damage done to her.

 Slowly, Y/N’s eyes fluttered slowly to see a sleeping Loki, sitting by her hospital bed. She brushed Loki’s locks which woke the god.

“How are you feeling now, Y/N?” Loki worriedly asked.

Y/N’s antennae twitched, “Feeling better, but I feel a bit different” she weakly responded.

“I am deeply sorry for not being much help throughout your whole ordeal, you shouldn’t have faced it alone” Loki rubbed her fingers looking dejected.

“That’s alright, it was something that I need to do sooner or later,” she answered.

Soon, the rest of the Avengers poured inside the hospital after being notified by the nurses that Y/N has come to – bringing flowers and well-wishes.

“Your white suit looked good, but your current one looked better,” Tony commented.

“Looking more like a shrimp now?” Y/N joked.

“Can’t say it’s a bad thing,” he responded.

“You need more training when you get released from here. Despite your powers, you got us all worried about you with what you did with the facility,” Steve said, arms crossed.

“Especially my dearest brother, Loki. He hasn’t left you even for a second!” Thor exclaimed.

“You don’t have to tell her that,” Loki crossed, furrowing his brows.

“Nothing to be ashamed of brother – I know you hold Y/N dear so we understand,” Thor responded.

Before Thor and Loki could continue with their banter, Nat interjected, “Okay everyone, let’s let Y/N rest for now so she could recover quick.”

After a few more weeks in the hospital, the doctors cleared Y/N to be discharged.

Loki was reading a book in the lounge when Y/N popped in – now back to her usual form after being injected with the antidote. “Do you mind if I join?” before Loki could answer, Y/N sat beside him.

“How are you feeling now?” Loki asked.

“Much better, I feel like I could fight another freak like me,” Y/N joked.

“You are not a freak Y/N, you know that.”

“Hey, that’s a badge of honor for me now – not everyone gets to survive the whole shit show, now that I realized it,” Y/N responded.

“You didn’t deserve what you went through. Still, a part of me is glad that you’re here with us now,” Loki felt his heart hurt, while he was there at the facility, he saw the manuscripts documenting the harrowing experiments conducted.

“ Yeah, I’m glad to be here too,” Y/N eyes glimmered with hope as she looks outside the floor-to-ceiling window, not noticing Loki was looking at her with much admiration. Vowing to himself he wouldn’t let the same thing happen to her again.

“Y/N…” Loki moved closer to her, cupping her chin with his fingers, and gazing directly into her eyes.

Her heart fluttered with this gesture and before she could respond, Loki to her in a sweet and beautiful kiss that felt like heaven and lasted forever.

Loki broke the kiss to continue, “I couldn’t imagine myself being without you anymore.” Y/N’s face turned beet-red and before she could say anything, Steve walked in. Y/N jumped away covering her face with a throw pillow. She didn’t know how to react.

“Ready for your training, Y/N?” Steve naively asked.

“Perfect timing captain, you couldn’t have walked in a perfect time,” Loki sarcastically answered, leaving Steve confused.

“See in 5 Agent, training room,” Steve responded which Y/N answered with a squeak and a nod.

“Loki… I…” Y/N said.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up. Go with the captain now,” Loki smugly smiled at Y/N.

[alex-grace]

˗ˋˏ and i'm sitting on a bench at coney island wondering, where did my baby go? ˎˊ˗

summary: peter wasn't the only kid tony lost that day on titan (tony stark x female teen reader; implied peter parker x fem reader)

wc. 2.0k

a/n: so y/n's powers are similar to wanda bc its monday and i do not function on mondays. yes i added lyrics to this because I'm insane :) also, i know the lyrics are not in order but bear with me, and apologises in advance babes ♡

--------------------------⟭⟬----------------------------

Red, yellow, orange, black.

That’s all she could see.

Rockets were going off, red and gold ones to be specific.

This dumbass was going against the grape by himself.

“Go,” She heard Peter say. He shot a web to a incoming rock, re-directing it from one of the new space nerds they had met. She flicked her arm out and disintegrated it before it even came close to the two.

“Go I got this.” He said again.

“Stay out of the gravitational orbit will ya?” Y/N replied back, quickly. Knowing Peter was well capable of biting of only what he could chew. Sorta.

Better than Mr. T’s ability.

“I’m sorry I can’t remember anybody’s names,” She heard him say over the blood roaring in her ears. Thanos had ripped of Tony’s nano-tech mask, landing a hard blow on him.

Tony didn’t get back up.

Her arrival on ground caused a ripple under the planet’s surface. Small rocks and debris around her went up in disintegration. Her eyes glowing a soft white.

“Hands off,” She growled as she lifted herself back up in the air.

 ˗ˋ And when I got into the accident, The sight that flashes

before me was your faceˎˊ˗

Thanos was quicker, sending a blast of purple energy from the Power stone straight to where Y/N flew over head. Landing to punch.

The purple met white.

Y/N stayed with one arm outstretched, the other closer to her face. Generating whatever she could.

She’s seen Tony get pushed down, it never struck her. She always knew he’d get back up. This was different.

This was war.

Her hand closest to her began to move outward. One stream of energy keeping the Power stone’s abilities away from her, while she sent a second stream right toward the infinity gauntlet.

The gold closest to his elbow began to deteriorate.

Thanos tilted his head in confusion. How the hell was that working?

That’s when purple started to win, Y/N’s hands beginning to shake from the strain.

Thank Thor above Tony had been watching as he prepared to strike.

The purple was gone almost immediately as a flash of red and gold flew by her. That’s when the blue hit, the Space stone. Moving her forcefully across the face of the planet.

“Somethings happening,” she heard someone say. She was too disoriented to put the voice to a name. Not that she would’ve remembered, shed met these space geeks less than hours ago.

She was too far away from the group to see what exactly what the voice was referring to. She crawled onto her legs on hands and knees, wobbling over, and holding her side. Her temple was bleeding, lip cut, arm probably fractured from the impact of Thanos hitting her with the Space stone. Most of her body had absorbed the energy, but it still hurt like hell.

She stumbled on her way to the group, just a handful of meters away.

Except there was no group anymore. Just the woman with the cool hand, and Tony. But Tony was kneeling over someone.

“I’m sorry,”

No.

She didn’t need superpowers or FRIDAY to tell her whose voice was that. His voice would forever be engraved in her mind, her soul.

What happened to him?

What happened to him.

Anger flooded through her, as it always did. She looked around for the Titan, for Strange, for anyone else there.  

Why did everyone leave?

She looked at her shaky hands.

Did I do this?

Oh God.

This was me, wasn’t it.

I finally messed up.

---------

Tony turned around, eyes blank as he looked at the ashes on his hands.

His kid’s ashes.

Shit.

The kids.

Y/N was staggering over to him. Horror in her eyes as she darted from her hands, to around her, back to her hands.

“Tony?” She whispered.

Not you please not you too.

Part of him didn’t want to move, he didn’t know if he could save her. He lost one please let Y/N not be another.

He got up anyway, swaying unsteadily under the floor of an already unsteady planet.

Tony reached his arms out to grab her. To keep her there with him. . He lost one, please let Y/N not be another.

But Y/N didn’t fall into his arms like Peter did.

She just stood there.

He held onto her shoulders.

“Kid-, “ He said quietly looking down at the girl he considered his daughter.

Y/N’s hand stayed connected to her stomach, like if she moved she would hurt him even more than he already was. She kept her eyes flickering side to side from his.

She put her hand on his face.

Tony wanted to say something. To comfort her? To keep her there? To tell her not to go? To tell her she should’ve stayed home with her stupid muffin she was so excited to eat that morning.

“Never let them take your heart,”

He had to watch her disappear into dust, her eyes closed right before…

He crumbled under the disappearance of the weight right next to him.

They lost. But Tony didn’t know what hurt more. Because he didn’t just “lose”.

He felt like he died that day too. On that stupid orange planet.

And he felt, like he died split in two.

•────────⎊────────────•

3 Weeks Later

Grass.

That was the first thing Tony saw as Nebula helped him down the stairs of the Bentar. He previously saw a figure running toward them.

Of course it had to be the Captain himself.

Neither recognized the fact in that they hadn’t seen each other since the brutal fight in Siberia. For a moment they were just Tony and Steve. Not Iron Man and Captain America.

Friends.

“Couldn’t stop him.” Was the first words Tony uttered.

“Neither could I.” Steve followed immediately afterword, supporting Tony as much as he could.

“Hang on,” Barley a whisper. Tony hated the words that came out of his mouth next. He’s been dreading it for weeks. God how he wished somedays aboard that ship he could’ve died with them.

“I lost the kids,”

“Oh, Tony we lost.”

Pepper ran into Tony’s arms, taking his attention away from Steve. Giving him a moment to realize what just happened.

Sure the super soldier’s reflexes and quick thinking was fast. But this threw him completely off his course.

What the hell did Tony mean by ‘the kids’?

Sure the Spider-Boy that went missing with Tony in New York, and…

Oh God. No.

…

A few hours later…

“You’re new blood we need you.” He pointed at Carol as he unsteadily walked over to where Steve stood, holding onto the table now and then for support.

 “I said, ‘we'd lose’. You said, ‘We'll do that together too.’ And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers”

Rhodey finally cut in. “Okay.”

“Right?”

“You made your point. Just sit down.” His friend told him, hands on his arms.

Tony mumbled an okay, but Stark’s never stay quite.

Y/N wouldn’t, he thought. “Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what?”

“Tony, you're sick.” Rhodey could hardly be heard over the rush of adrenaline that went through Tony.

Tony looked over to the new blonde standing silently in the corner. “She's great, by the way.”

“Sit down. Sit.”

“We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules. You’re new blood we need you.” He pointed at Carol as he unsteadily walked over to where Steve stood holding onto the table now and then for support. Right in front of his face, hushing down to a venomous tone.

“I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar.”

The old friends just gaze at each other. Steve looking affected by Tony's words.

“You know Steve, the las thing she ever said to me? Never let them take your heart.”

Tony rips his Arc Reactor from his chest and shoves it into Steve's hand

“It’s too bad I’m giving it. You find him, and you put that on. You hide.”

Tony falls to the ground. Steve is by his side and everyone is starting to gather.

“Tony!”

“I’m fine. I...”

Tony falls into a heap, unconscious.

No one needed magical powers to know damn well who he was talking about.

•───────⎊─────────────•

5 Months Later

It’s October 21.

It was supposed to be a party.

He had hiding a box of streamers and banners and deflated balloons in the lab for weeks.

Not even mentioning the closet full of papers for guest lists, and different planned out days on crumbled pieces of paper.

The invitations were ready to be sent.

Pepper had gone out of her way to pick a dress for her.

He looked out to the morning sunrise on the hard wooden bench. He had told Pepper he was going on a run.

Pepper knew, Tony never ran a day in his life. But after losing Y/N, she lost a piece of Tony herself. Not even mentioning the own hole it left in her heart. In her home.

Tony had fallen asleep to the thought of birthday cake last night. Maybe it was the nightly delusions kicking in. A blanket was placed over him. He just wanted to go back to that dream, only being held less than a couple months ago. A life that felt so long ago.

He woke up groggy that morning. Rubbing his hair as he placed one foot in front of the other in the hallway. He had a little too much to drink last night at his “surprise” birthday party Pepper had thrown for him. Unlucky for her, FRIDAY knows everything.

“God you people are so loud,” He heard a voice whisper from a few feet around the corner. Shhh’s followed. He knew that voice.

In the softest voices possible for an hungover Sunday, “Happy birthdays!” were exclaimed.

 ˗ˋˏ You standing in the hallway with a big cake, Happy

birthday ˎˊ˗

Y/N at the center of the little group, comprised of, Peter, Happy, and Pepper.

“Happy birthday to you,” They whispered through smiling faces.

“Happy birthday to you,” God how much did he have to drink that night?

“Happy birthday dear Mr. T,”

“Tony,”

“Mr. Stark,”

The cake read, ‘Halfway to Senior Citizen!’ in the messiest handwriting Tony has ever seen on a cake.

“Happy birthday to you!”

He told himself he didn’t deserve this. This makeshift group of friends. Any yet Tony thought to himself, these were no longer just his friends.

They were family.

 “It’s-its bullshit I’ve even come to this but. God, kid I had to-I had to be the one to tell you.” He stuttered as he spoke, his hand running down his face.

“If you’re still there, knowing you, you’ve probably already sorted through all of my stuff,”

He pulled out a white envelope from the inside of his athletic jacket. The sides were torn and worn, illustrating just how many times Tony thought of burning it.

He ripped open the white flap gently. His hands shook while he did. Deep down it hurt, even more than usual, because he knew he was never supposed to be the one opening this. He was supposed to be watching from across the couch where you were supposed to be. Sitting “criss-cross-applesauce” you always said in that stupid sing-song voice. Opening all of dozens of birthday presents—making up for the time you never got to.

He blames himself, for he’s the reason you will never get another candle on a birthday cake.

A bead of water landed on the paper, causing a smudge of black ink to run along the letters.

Anthony Edward Stark, Virginia Potts

Custody of Y/N Y/L/N

“Happy birthday kid.”

˗ˋˏ I’m on a bench in Coney Island, wondering

Where did my baby go? ˎˊ˗

•───────⎊─────────────•

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ ﾟ。 authors note 　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ

hello my friends! i promise i'm not dead, just math sucks and makes me wait to di--you get the point. if you haven't pieced it together already i am very much a swiftie, so much of my work will be inspired/be incorporated with mother's song of some sort. if you've made it this far i love you.

i will be making a taglish fyi ! lmk if you would like to be added ˙ᵕ˙

taglist: @manyfandomsfanvergent

[mysteryideasgroup]

MSA X TMNT 2003: Ninja Tribunal Chapter 10: They meet the Justice Force/They fight Nano/They used to be small/One of the teams takes out of control chip/Nano is new reborn friend joined by Justice Force

TMNT and Mystery Teams are attending the Lairs of TMNT's Home and THNT's Homes. Mystery Teams are not going to Hotels. Mystery Teams going to TMNT's Home and THNT's Home are Lairs. TMNT and Mystery Teams met THNT and they have their Mistress Rat.

Carol: Guys, they are back here in NYC?! Wait... they’re not here! We need to protect NYC from Foots Teams and Purple Dragons Teams! We have our Mistress told us that TMNT was not here in NYC. Need to protect NYC.

Suki Chan: Right, I accept my daughter. I am Suki-Chan. I’m Mistress of THNT.

Raph: THNT? What’s THNT?

Carol: Teenage

Jerry: Heroes

Sandra: Ninja

Gary: Turtles, Teenage Heroes Ninja Turtles short called THNT.

Suki Chan: Right, I got my Children's names: Carol, Jerry, Sandra, Gary. They have Ninja Teams of THNT like TMNT do.

TMNT Team and Mystery Teams are listening to stories to THNT Team has Good Teams and Allies Teams.

Few of TMNT, THNT and Mystery Teams are split into Teams. Others rest of TMNT, THNT and Mystery Teams are staying with Lairs. Leo, Mikey, Carol, Gary, Sarah, Laura, Lewis, Arthur, Marie, Stephanie, Bart, Josh, Cera and Ecole are going to Justice Force. They after the story of Ninja Tribunal. They going to fight with Nano.

Nano: Destroy Justice Force. [He suddenly stops running and his eyes shift to blue.] Justice Force, please, help… Error. Multiple targets.

His focuses first on Silver Sentry, then Raptarr, to Nobody, and finally Ananda, his sensors supplying him with readings on each.

Nano: Eliminate threats.

Leo is shocked and recognizes the voice is Nano

Leo: Oh no! Mikey, that voice, that face…

Mikey: No freaking way...

Leo and Mikey: Nano?!

Carol, Gary with 2 of the Girls' Clues Club Team, Rest of the Mystery Teams are surprised and shocked by TMNT's recognition of him, Nano

Carol: ?! Wait... Nano?! Do guys recognize him?

Gary: They fought him? They think it’s destroyed!

Lewis: Wait, what’s Nano?

Arthur: You remember that you guys fought him?

Marie: You mean the metal monster thing?

Stephanie: Guys told us to think that he’s destroyed!

Leo: Everyone, stop! We have to get it away from all technology! Ananda, get out!

Mikey: Nano’s not your run-of-the-mill giant killer robot.

Sarah: Wait! No!

Laura: !!! (Mind: Oh no! Not good!)

They are too late to Ananda's lose control of her Machine Bot

The warning signal goes off inside the Domebot’s cockpit.

Computer: Warning! Warning! Security breach! Firewall failure!

Ananda: No! It’s-it’s taking control of my Domebot!

Silver Sentry: Ananda, get out of there!

The Domebot opens fire on Silver Sentry, who uses his powers to create a shield. He flies at the Domebot and picks it up off the ground as it continues to fire. Ananda ejects from the Domebot in her special seat which has a parachute attachment. Silver Sentry then throws the Domebot up towards the sun.

Leo: This doesn’t make any sense. Why would Nano attack the Justice Force?

Mikey: Yeah, he always seemed like such a well-adjusted little rampaging robot.

Metal Head spins his hair like a buzzsaw and leaps at Nano, cutting off one of his legs. The nanobots pull the leg back together.

Nano: Target, Metal Head. Eliminate.

He swipes down at Metal Head, who leaps high, avoiding the strike. Expanding his hair, Metal Head drops over Nano, using his metal hair to form a cage around the robot’s body. One of the metal spikes has gone through Nano’s head, but it opens so that cable can grasp the spike. It lifts Metal Head and slams him to the ground twice, before reforming its head. Nobody tosses several grenades at Nano, which knock him down. The Nano twin races towards Nobody, who shoots cables from his wrist gauntlets into the two statues next to him. Nano lunges at him, but Nobody propels himself up onto the overhead cable and Nano’s momentum makes the robot fall. He gets up quickly and turns to dive at Nobody, who backflips off the cable. The fall separates the upper and lower halves of the robotic body, with Nobody standing between them. Before Nobody can get out of the way, the cables in the halves shoot out over him, trapping Nobody as the two parts pull themselves back together. The statue of Dr. Dome tips over as the Nano twin stands up. Chrysalis appears in front of him, gathers her energy, and strikes.

Chrysalis: Ugh!

Her energy force yanks Nano apart, which frees Nobody.

Mikey: Now that’s a Justice Force rescue.

Lewis uses Samurai Fire Sword to bat aside large chunks of stone.

Sarah: Mikey! Look out!

Michelangelo, standing near him, doesn’t notice a stone coming at him and is hit. Michelangelo rises to find his cape and cowl have been destroyed.

Mikey: Oh no! Not my costume!

Sarah and Laura used powers chi to fight out Nano, not good for repairing regeneration. They are shocked by Nano's ability to repair. They with the Rest of the Justice Force Team fight off.

Nano fires at Chrysalis, who flies from side to side to avoid his laser blasts. One of them hits Zippy Lad’s statue.

Zippy Lad: Ah, my favourite statue!

As Chrysalis readies her powers, a swarm of nanobots shoot from Nano’s body, smash into her and drive her into the river. The statue of Battling Bernice falls over. Raptarr swoops down and grabs the head of Lad’s statue with his feet. Straining, he lifts it into the air and then releases it when he is over Nano. The statue smashes Nano into the ground. Silver Sentry brings Ananda down next to the two turtles, and then he races towards the Nano twin. It tries to strike him, but Silver Sentry catches its arm.

Bart, Josh, Cera and Ecole used powers chi to fight out Nano has copies of himself. Bart, Josh, Cera and Ecole used cuts with their swords, not better to back repair and regenerate. Their chis powers off. They going to reteam/regroup after not working to fight off Nano

Bart: Not good! They are not good! I think he has repaired and regenerated!

Josh: What’s he has metal powers?!

Cera: How does this?

Ecole: !? They have ideas do?

Leo: Ananda, you can communicate with machines, right? Talk to it, talk to Nano. We think he’s being controlled.

Ananda: You’re right. There’s a control chip on one of the nanobots. It’s spreading a foreign program through its system. I can sense it, but it’s blocking me.

Sarah: The Control Chip?

Leo: The chip will have to be destroyed at the source.

Lewis: We’ll have to remove the chip and set Nano free.

Laura: I think we need to get small...

Mikey: But it’s nano small. How the shell are we supposed to… 

Nano manages to fling Silver Sentry away from him. As Silver Sentry flies backwards, Moleculo is thrown from his cape pocket. Silver Sentry hits the ground, flips over, and bounds back at Nano. Moleculo lands on his back and his belt returns him to normal size.

Mikey: Guys, wait. [He looks over at the unconscious Moleculo.] Guys, I so have a plan. Trust me.

Leo: Mikey, what are you going do? 

Mikey: Shrink down and get the Nano-Chip off myself. 

Sarah: I’m in with you. 

Laura: I’m coming with you.

They leap at Nano’s back as he stalks towards Ananda. Both three Teams press the shrink button and become nanobot-sized as they hit Nano’s shoulder.

Inside of Nano's systems and arrive in a junction filled with parts and cables.

Sarah: Right, we’ve got to find the nanobot with the control chip.

Laura: I think the control chip in where.

Mikey: Wait, guys. I think it might find us.

The nanobots swarm over Sarah and Laura and then begin to cover Michelangelo. They look up to see the one with the chip riding on top of the wave coming towards him.

Sarah: Wait... hold on! There it! Better fast! I got removed the control chip!

Sarah tried to reach out to get removed from Control Chip from Nanobot

She stretches to reach for it as she is slowly covered by nanobots. Nano starts back for Ananda.

They were shocked that Nano was down. 2 Human Girls and Mikey are back to Normal sizes and they have got the control chip removed.

Sarah: I got it. (She opens her hand to reveal the chip lying on her palm.)

The nanobots begin pulling together from the various places where they have scattered. Tsunami arrives on a wave, supporting Chrysalis. The nanobots swirl together in the air, and then reform into one being, which slowly drops to the ground.

Silver Sentry: Now to finish this fiend.

Leonardo with the Rest of the Mystery Teams runs to stand in front of Nano.

Leo: No! It’s okay!

Ananda: I’ve been in communication with him. He doesn’t want to fight. He’s not evil.

Leonardo and Michelangelo stand on either side of Nano. They are with 2 of the THNT Team, 2 of the Girls' Clues Club Teams, and the rest of the Mystery Teams.

Mikey: Yeah, Nano’s a good kid. He just fell in with a bad crowd. He been manipulated his whole life, but you guys, you could help him.

Nano: Thank you, Justice Force, and thank you, turtle creatures, human friends. My programming has evolved much since my previous encounters with you. I apologize for my… lack of maturity.

He walks towards the Justice Force.

Leo: That was some good thinking there, Mikey. Way to go!

Mikey: It’s just your classic good robot under evil control forced to attack superhero scenario. No biggie. Now, let’s talk about my membership.

Back to Lairs. The Others rest of TMNT, THNT and Mystery Teams are staying with Lairs. They are watching the TV News: Mystery Hero joins Justice Force. They are shocked at Nano.

Reporter: And with the addition of this mysterious Nano, the Justice Force completed their membership drive.

Don and Raph: Nano?!

Leo: Don’t ask.

Lewis: We’re successful in our Mission.

Raph: What’s the matter, Mikey, didn’t make the cut?

Mikey: In your dreams, you wanna be. The Turtle Titan is an official member of the Justice Force. Of course, I’m only on duty every third Wednesday of every fourth month and February twenty-ninth, when there is one.

----

For @laurasanchez36

All my msa x tmnt ocs and all my new msa x tmnt ocs belongs to Me

All her msa x tmnt ocs and all her new msa x tmnt ocs belongs to @laurasanchez36

Mystery Skulls Animated MSA belongs to Ben and MysteryBen27 of YouTube YT Series

TMNT 2003 belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird 

[killacharacterbingo]

The Blip

In the MCU, two related events are referred to as the Blip. During the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos used the Infinity Stones to eliminate half of all life in the universe in his desire to bring balance, in his twisted view. This event is referred to as both the Snap and the Blip in different sources.

Five years later, during the events of Avengers: Endgame, Bruce Banner used the Nano Gauntlet to channel the power of the Infinity Stones again, this time with the purpose of resurrecting all those who'd died five years prior. The Nano Gauntlet was much more damaging to the user than the Infinity Gauntlet used by Thanos during the Snap, and as a consequence Banner sustained serious injury, solely surviving because of his strength as the Hulk. The resurrection of all who died during the Snap is also referred to as the Blip.

Under either interpretation of this prompt, literally setting the story in the MCU is not a requirement. MCU fics or MCU AUs are welcome, of course, but in broader terms, the prompt covers different possibilities depending on the definition of the Blip that is chosen.

If based on this clip from Infinity War, the event also called the Snap, the prompt refers to mass death, the disappearance of people on a large scale, villains who commit atrocities in order to fulfill a perceived moral duty, and the like. The powerlessness of being unable to save a loved one who vanished next to you, or the confusion of dying suddenly and unexpectedly.

If based on this clip from Endgame, the prompt relates to sacrifice. To enduring harm potentially leading to death, or accepting death, as a consequence to saving others. Self-sacrifices for the greater good, or to give loved ones, or unrelated innocents, a second chance. Difficult decisions and putting the good of many over the suffering of a few.