The Mimic

187

"I've got it! I've got it!" Peter's voice chimed over the earpiece, seeming pretty excited to be involved in something so huge.

Y/n lay on the bumpy, debris-covered ground, staring up at the warfare going on up in the sky. She couldn't see an ounce of blue - hell, she couldn't see an ounce of sun. Just smoke and darkness for miles and miles. She didn't want to move, she just wanted to lay still for a little while and let her body catch up.

The mixture of sweat and dirt packed into her wounds caused every inch of her skin to sting. She felt hot, and not in the nice way. Suffocated in her mission suit and weighed down by the countless weapons strapped to her - y/n had never wished to be in a pair of sweatpants more in her life. Every heaving breath sent a stabbing pain throughout her whole chest, simply confirming y/n's suspicion that there were some broken ribs mixed in with the rest of her injuries.

The sound of heavy footsteps beside her head forced y/n to stop gazing up at the sky, still wheezing in a desperate attempt to catch her breath. God, she should've just said no to Sam's dumb challenge. One arm rested on her forehead whilst the other lay across her stomach, a dopey, exhausted smile painted across her face as she made eye contact with the person who had stopped to check if she was okay. "I'm fine, I'm fine. You can go." Y/n wheezed, waving her arm out to gesture for them to leave, not really processing who was stood over her.

T'Challa raised an eyebrow at the sight of y/n on the ground, catching his breath as he watched her wheeze in and out. "Of course you are." He said sarcastically, scanning around to make sure that there weren't any aliens heading their way. "Come on, a battlefield isn't the greatest place to sunbathe." T'Challa teased, looking back down at y/n with a warm smile. He nodded his head toward the rest of the battle, holding his hand out for y/n to take.

Y/n smiled fondly at the sight of T'Challa, laughing a little at his teasing as she took his hand and hoisted herself up. "I'm not allowed to sunbathe. If I do, Bucky sulks." Y/n smiled, letting out a pained breath as she finally got herself upright again, using T'Challa for support. "His metal arm heats up like a seatbelt left in the sun." She laughed, happy to be able to talk about Bucky without tearing up. He was back. They were all back.

T'Challa chuckled, keeping an arm wrapped around y/n until she was situated and able to stand properly. "Hopefully his new vibranium one doesn't do the same thing, hm?" He grinned, scanning y/n over to make sure that there weren't any severe injuries that he needed to know about. He could tell that a lot of time had passed since the fight in Wakanda, and not just because of the fact that Steve's beard was gone, he could see it in y/n's eyes. It had been a tough time for her. A really tough time.

*****

"I've got it! I've still got it!" Peter exclaimed as he raced across the battlefield. Just like every mission, he narrated every little thing he did. It wasn't to annoy anyone, it was just out of habit. He'd make little sound effects, he'd talk to himself, and even pretend that the aliens had voices. It was sweet to hear over the earpiece, but it was mainly for Peter's entertainment.

He'd webbed the gauntlet to his chest like a parent would with a baby carrier, just wanting to make sure that he had as much of a grip on the gauntlet as possible. Peter was very aware of his ability to get distracted, so he was sure that if the gauntlet was strapped to his chest, he'd know if it disappeared. It was quite a funny sight, and he was very aware that Sam was probably going to make fun of him for it, but he didn't care. He had the gauntlet, and he was making way more distance than Sam ever did.

"Woah, buddy! That was far too close!" Peter laughed nervously, dodging an alien that tried to tackle him out of the sky. However, that tackle was just a distraction, and Peter fell right for him. He dodged, which meant that he changed direction ever so slightly. But that ever-so-slight change in direction led to the kid swinging straight into a massive group of the aliens.

His eyes widened in fear as he tumbled to the ground, completely surrounded by the group. Everything had been so exciting so far, but this wasn't. This definitely wasn't. He was surrounded by ten bloodthirsty aliens, and there was no way of just slipping out of it. "Activate instant kill!" Peter yelled to the A.I. integrated into his suit. He closed his eyes, curling into a ball to protect the gauntlet as metal spider-legs appeared out of his suit.

It didn't take long for the group of aliens to all be defeated, but Peter didn't move from where he had been curled up. He didn't want to kill anybody, alien or human. Of course, in that moment he didn't have a choice, but that didn't make the sounds of them dying even easier.

"Peter, you've got to keep moving." His A.I. urged, understanding the danger of standing still with the gauntlet. "There is still a lot of distance to cover."

"I know, I know." Peter sighed, but he didn't move a muscle. "I think I'll just stay here for a few seconds, take a breather, y'know? You can handle any aliens that try to attack, right?" He asked. His eyes stayed squeezed shut, holding onto the gauntlet for dear life as he listened to the screeches of the aliens get closer and closer. "Okay, maybe I need to-"

"Need some help, kid?" A voice suddenly interrupted, causing Peter's eyes to shoot open in shock.

It was Bucky. He had a hand held out to take the gauntlet whilst the other was busy shooting at Thanos' army. "I can take the gauntlet for a bit if you want." He offered, forcing a smile. Because of y/n, he'd grown pretty fond of the kid, he was like a little brother - but he'd never admit that. "I just need you to cover for me, can you do that? I don't really have any magical powers or fancy suits, so I'll need your help."

Peter nodded furiously, a bright smile on his face at the sight of Bucky being nice to him for once. It was so rare. "Yeah, yeah of course!" He exclaimed, ripping the webbing off of the gauntlet before handing it over to Bucky. He hopped up so his feet, waiting for Bucky to be ready before the pair could run. "This is cool. I'm like, your right-hand-man."

"Don't push it."