Worthy

Part 62 - There Was No Other Way

"Katie!" You're suddenly woken by Peter whispering, albeit loudly, in your ear. "Katie, wake up!"

Rubbing your eyes and sitting up, you're shaken to see it's dark outside, and seemingly the only person in the room with you is your brother. Where is Thor? "What's going on?"

"Dad wants to see us, he has a plan to get to Thanos. Tony and Thor are with him now, but we need to go through it all together. " Wiping the sleep from your eyes, you gesture to Peter to help you up; your body suddenly stiff, probably just from the way you were laying.

"I don't feel so good Peter," You rub your head, sudden pains striking through you. "Since we got here, I...I..." Before you can finish your sentence you throw up, completely covering the floor, Quill just managing to get out of the way.

"OK, it's OK." Peter grabs a towel, passing it to you to wipe your face, before rubbing your back. "Take your time." You retch a few more times before sitting up, wiping your face. "Better?"

"No," You feel like you could throw up again, the stomachache and the headache fighting each other for dominance. "I need to lie back down." Peter just nods and helps you lay down, running to the sink and wetting a towel to place on your head.

"I'll go get Dad," He rushes off before you have a chance to tell him no. You raise your knees and wrap an arm around your stomach, trying desperately to get it to keep a bay. You're sure you black out at one point; not quite sure how fast time is going before Ego arrives at your side.

"Sit up Kate," He helps you sit up, a glass of water is shoved in front of your face. "You need to drink."

"What's going on?" Peter yells, immediately concerned about how pale you've become in the small time he was away. "Shouldn't I get Stark and Thor."

"No," Ego strokes your hair, before pulling you up onto your feet, wrapping your arm around his neck as he starts to take you out of the room. "It's the power of the planet, it's draining her. We need to move." Peter comes to the other side of you to support your dead weight as Ego drags you along the hallways, finally stopping in the main hall. As soon as he's there, he instantly drops you; the fact that Peter is still holding onto you means you don't instantly hit the floor.

"What..." But before Peter can ask his question he looks towards his father. Ego is marching into the centre of the room, shaking his head in frustration before turning back and looking at you both.

"Just typical," He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I finally find the two strong enough to help me with my plan and it turns out one of you is defective." He points to you, as Peter gently lays you down, taking your hand as you pass out once again.

"What are you talking about? What's happening to her?"

"You two should be attuned to the power at the centre of this planet, it should make you both stronger." He shakes his head again. "But for some reason she seems to be having the opposite effect. The power is killing her. It doesn't make sense. "

"I have a theory," A deep voice echoes out of the darkness in the corner of the room, before the Titan makes his entrance. Instantly Peter is on edge as he watches Thanos slowly walk towards Ego, cockiness etched on his face as he twitches the gauntlet in his hands, revealing his latest collection: the space and reality stone.

"You have some nerve," Ego barks out, putting a hand out to stop Peter as he tries to make his way over to Thanos, thoughts of Gamora racing in his mind. "Showing up here unannounced."

"You made promises old man," Thanos smirks, looking over at Peter, before staring at your now almost comatose body. "Seems like you'll be unable to keep them."

"WHERE'S GAMORA?" Quill yells out, managing to fight out of the power that Ego had held on him, stopping him in place. Instantly Thanos' head drops, before turns the gauntlet one more time, revealing a fourth stone in place; one that shines bright orange.

"There was no other way." Thanos' words are calm, quiet, but a sense of grief fills the room.

"You..." Peter collapses to his knees as he understands. "You killed her."

"Sacrifices needed to be made. I don't expect you to understand boy."

"ENOUGH!" Ego yells, his voice so loud it shakes the entire building; even Thanos is wary. "If you had just done as I had asked, your plan would have been done by now." Even in his grief, Peter looks up, confusion settling in his brain. "You had one job Titan, one. Bring my daughter to me. But you and those infinity stones..."

"What use is your daughter now?" Thanos points at you. "At least she helped me bring my part of the plan into fruition."

"Her time on Earth has made her weak. I maybe could have salvaged something if you had brought her to me sooner, but you had to meddle with those Asgardians." Ego spits out, running a hand down his face before turning to Peter. "Don't look at me like that, son." His tone turns soft as he walks over to him. "This wasn't the way I wanted this to go." He places a hand on Quill's shoulder. "I wanted us to do this together, the three of us." Looking over at you in disgust, he takes a step back and stares angrily. "But the two of us should be strong enough."

"Strong enough for what?" Peter asks, his voice breaking, watching every step Ego takes as he steps ever closer to you.

"I'm sorry Peter. Yondu was supposed to collect you both." Ego looks down over you, a single tear running down his face. "She really does look like your mother. I'm sorry to be the one who kills her too."

"Wait..." Peter stands, walking over and pushing him away from you. "What do you mean too?"

"I had to tear you away from that planet. I needed to find a way to get you here. You would never leave your mother." Ego sighs. "She was so wonderful, it's why I returned, why your sister was born. I could have stayed there with Meredith forever. That's why it killed me, putting that tumour in her head. There was no other way." He sighs, mimicking Thanos' words.

A violent crash shakes the entire room; all the pillars start to crumble, making dust fall everywhere. Peter only has time to cover your body with his as chunks of concrete and dust cascade down upon you. It ends just as quick as it began; not before the main doors blast open revealing the cause.

Iron Man flies in, followed by bolts of lightning as both men head straight for their targets: Tony for Ego, Thor for Thanos, who quickly slips away using the space stone. Brushing the rubble off himself, and you, Quill gets up to join Tony as he takes on Ego; firing his gun rapidly in succession. Eventually Ego collapses, while Thor rushes over to your side. Placing a hand under your head and raising you slightly. "Stark, she's barely breathing."

"We need to get back to Earth now," Peter rushes to your side too. "He said being here was killing her."

"We gotta move now," Stark yells, ushering Thor to carry you. "Can you fly that ship?" He asks Quill, who's staring blankly at you; the emotion of the last few minutes catching up with him. "QUILL!" He yells, shaking him. "Are you listening to me? We need to get her home, can you fly the ship?"

"I don't...don't think so..." he stammers. "But I'll give it a go."

"Well work on it fast. We need to get them home ASAP." He urges Quill to fly on, but the statement stops him.

"Them?"

"Yes," Tony sighs, letting his Iron Man helmet come off; reaching over and brushing the hair from your face as you lay in Thor's arms. "She's pregnant." Thor's eyes widen at his statement; almost dropping you in shock.

"HEIMDALL!"