The Mimic

177

"Bruce!"

The snap was fast and underwhelming. Everyone had prepared to be blasted or hit by a surge of energy, but the only thing that affected them was a bright flash of light.

Y/n blinked hard to try and allow her eyes to adapt to the sudden flash. She let go of the forcefield that she'd formed, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. She'd expected an energy surge, not an almost-blinding light. It wasn't pleasant. She cursed under her breath, taking a few steps back as she continued to blink over and over again. She'd been staring directly at Bruce when it happened, and now she'd been plunged into darkness.

Y/n reached her hand out to grab onto Thor, who had previously been behind her, but he was gone. The whole team had rushed to Bruce's aid, and y/n was oblivious. She waved her hand around in front of herself, managing to find a wall to lean against. Every single muscle in her body had tensed up, vulnerable and terrified of the fact that she couldn't see. The dark had always been a big fear for y/n, and the possibility that she could be in a permanent darkness was horrifying.

 She clenched her jaw as fear begun to form in the pit of her stomach, mimicking super soldier strength as a desperate attempt to force her body to heal faster. "Come on..." Y/n whispered to herself, her voice beginning to waver. The entire team was focused on Bruce. She could hear them all talking and fussing over his destroyed arm. None of them had noticed y/n at the side of the room, not even Scott or Steve.

Blink.

The familiar warmth of tears rushed down her cheeks, causing y/n to quickly turn her head toward where she believed the wall was. She didn't want the team to see her crying. They hadn't even noticed the fact that she was stumbling around like somebody that had been blindfolded, but for some reason the idea of them seeing her crying again was a much higher priority. She pressed her palms against the cold metal wall, allowing tears to fall as she tried her hardest to regulate her breathing.

Blink.

Y/n couldn't see a thing. No hints of light, no silhouettes, nothing. It was a permanent dark void, and it was horrifying. It was a type of darkness that she'd always feared, because she knew that there were people and things around her, but she didn't know where. The fear of the unknown. At least when the man in the suit used to sit her in dark rooms, there were never any real threats, but now it was different. Now it was dangerous.

Blink.

Y/n continued to listen out for the rest of the team as she leant her hands against the wall, her mind screaming at her to ask for help. She knew the compound like the back of her hand, but being plunged into darkness so suddenly caused her to forget everything. She didn't know where any of the furniture was, she didn't know anything. Even taking a single step was terrifying.

"Did it work?" Clint asked in a nervous tone, the robotic sounds of all of Tony's lockdown procedures filling the room as he turned them off.

Y/n lifted her head up at the sound of Clint's voice, her heart dropping as realisation hit her. What if it was permanent? What if the snap did work? She'd never be able to see Bucky's face again.

Y/n could feel the panic rising in her chest, staying frozen in place as the lump in her throat begun to form again. "I can't-" She started in a quiet tone, but, before she could finish, the black void plaguing her eyes begun to fade. She blinked harder and harder, watching as the metal wall begun to finally make an appearance in front of her. Relief rushed through her as she quickly turned around, ready to sprint out of the room and call Bucky, but instead she was met with the eyes of Steve staring at her.

"What's wrong, y/n?" Steve asked, a concerned look in his eyes. "You said 'I can't'. What can't you do? Are you okay?" He asked, noticing the tears on her cheeks. He'd been busy helping Bruce, but once he heard y/n's shaky tone, he immediately lifted his head up. However, he soon noticed how dilated y/n's eyes were, and he understood exactly what had just happened. He'd seen it in the war so many times. "The light blinded you, didn't it? Don't worry, it only lasts for a few minutes. Can you see now?" He asked, standing up as he began to make his way toward y/n. "It's best not to move until your vision is completely back to normal-"

"I'm fine! I can see now." Y/n quickly interrupted, hurrying past Steve as she made a beeline for the door to the missions room. It was obvious that she was lying, and it wasn't just because of the tone of her voice. It was because she almost walked straight into Rocket, but luckily he stepped out of the way.

"Y/n-" Steve sighed, watching as she almost knocked into a table. He stepped forward to grab onto her arm, but she quickly slipped out of his grasp, disappearing out of the room. He glanced around at the rest of the room, searching for some sort of reaction from them, but they were all busy checking if the snap had actually worked. The super solider was the only one actually focusing on her.

"I'm fine!" Y/n repeated as she rushed out of the room, slamming her shoulder into the door on the way out.

Y/n's vision had barely cleared up. The black void still engulfed most of her eyesight, but she had a small circle where she could actually see. That was enough for her. There was something far more important than waiting for her vision to clear up.

Bucky.

As soon as the door to the missions room shut, y/n broke out into a full sprint down the hallways of the compound. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, her heavy boots echoing down the cold and empty hallways. She had to call him. She had to hear his voice again, and she knew exactly where her phone was.

It was in the kitchen. She'd left it there when she had finished braiding Thor's hair before their mission to get the stones. The kitchen and the missions room were so far apart from one another, but y/n didn't care. She'd sprint the whole way if it meant that she'd be able to hear Bucky's voice again.

Her vision slowly became clearer and clearer the longer she ran. Y/n slid around corners and almost snapped the door hinges off of every room that she ran into. God, she was grateful that she'd played hide-and-seek and tag so much with the team. She knew every single shortcut.

However, there was something that y/n didn't notice. She was mostly running through the centre of the compound, meaning that there were no windows in sight. But even Clint, who was stood near a window, didn't notice.

There was a reason that Nebula had disappeared. And that was made pretty obvious by Thanos' spaceship hovering above the compound.

   An excited smile played at y/n's lips as she burst into the kitchen. "Come on, come on." She whispered nervously, racing toward her phone on the counter. Y/n knew his phone number. She knew everything. She just had to type in the numbers and call him.

But, just as y/n grabbed her phone, Thanos' spaceship rained fire down on the compound. It exploded the whole thing into smithereens, with the whole team inside. Including y/n.