Sokovian Bastard

64

"Five years ago, we lost." Steve states. "All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams. You know your missions. Get the stones. Get them back. One round-trip each. No mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. That doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives and we're gonna win. Whatever it takes." He turns to Tony. "Good luck."

"Y'know?" Lyla whispers to Pietro. "I love his speeches." She nods and he smiles. "He's always so good at it. Almost like someone's writing it for him."

"Alright! You heard the man!" Tony states. "Stroke up those keys, Jolly Green."

"Trackers engaged!"

Things start moving for them and all their helmets come on. The portal opens up beneath them and they're sucked through.

"Oh, God, I'm terrified." Lyla turns to Pietro.

"It's alright." He sets his hands on her cheeks. "They'll be ok-"

He's cut off by the portal opening back up with the rest coming back safe and sound.

"Did we get 'em all?" Bruce asks.

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey smiles.

Clint falls to his knees with an emotionless face and they all turn with concern. That's the moment Lylas heart drops to her stomach when she sees that Nat is no longer with them.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asks.

"Oh, my God." Lyla cries as she latches onto Pietro.

He quickly holds her tight as she begins sobbing and their eyes fill with tears.

-

Tony, Steve, Thor, Clint, Bruce, Pietro, and Lyla stand on the dock outside of the compound by the lake.

"Do we know if she had family other than Yelena?" Tony asks.

"Yeah." Steve answers. "Us."

"What?" Thor asks.

"Huh?" Tony looks at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Just asked him a question."

"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? So, stop this shit." He grits. "We're the Avengers. Get it together."

"Can't get her back." Clint states in monotone.

"What's he... What?"

"It can't be undone. It can't."

"Look, I'm sorry, no offense but, you're a very earthly being, okay?" He chuckles. "And we're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, look, I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here. But, she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point."

"It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the red, floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him!.. It was supposed to be me." He cries. "She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

Bruce grunts before picking up a bench and throwing it all the way across the lake. Lyla jumps a bit and closes her eyes while turning away from them. Pietro holds her closer to his chest with her arms around his waist.

"She's not coming back." Bruce slowly turns to them. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."

"We will." Steve stands.

Lyla shakes her head and she and Pietro sit on their bed, where her legs and arms are wrapped around his torso. She starts quietly crying again while be rubs up and down her back with tears of his own.

"I wanna get Wanda back." She cries and he sighs. "And I wanna live the rest of my life with you. Okay?"

"Deal."

"Okay."