Red, White and Black

Anthem of the Angels

It was time.
 
After nearly two months of work, the machine that might very well change the course of the world was ready. And now, the rest of us left had gathered, and it was time. The ten who were going were standing on the platform while Tony gave the kind of pep talk that made me think of Steve. 
Clint sent me a wink and a grin when I met his eyes. Pietro’s arm came around my shoulders. There was only enough Pym Particles for ten people to go back so ultimately it was decided that Pietro and I would be staying behind. Pietro because he understood how the machine worked and could use the control panel if something went wrong. Me because well–pretty much everyone insisted I stay behind. Pietro, Tony, Clint, Nat, Thor and Loki…it was frustrating but I was outvoted. 
“All right.” Tony looked around the gathered group before looking at where Pietro and I were standing. “Five minutes. If we aren’t back at that mark, Speedy over there knows what to do.”
I felt Pietro’s hand take mine as the machine hummed to life. Clint looked over at me again, his hand in Nat’s. Tears pricked at my eyes when he mouthed Love you . Taking a deep breath I held it until they all disappeared. 
“300 seconds, îngerul meu păzitor,” Pietro said, his hand squeezing mine. 
I looked at him, confused. “What?”
“They’ll be back in 300 seconds.” His grin was lopsided. “Well, now it’s 275.”
“Right.” Breathing out slowly, I nodded. He let my hand go when I moved away from him. I didn’t go far, I just couldn’t handle standing still. My wings moved restlessly, and I started chewing on my thumbnail. I was pretty sure this was going to be the longest five minutes of my life. 
“Can I ask something?” Pietro asked. 
“Sure, why not.” 
“What are you going to do if this works?” When I turned to look at him, he clarified, “If Rogers and Barnes come back? And Clint’s family?”
Swallowing thickly, I sighed and chewed on my thumbnail some more. “If our families come back well, then that’s great.”
180 seconds to go .
“Is it?”
“That’s why we’re doing this, isn’t it?”
“I feel you aren’t exactly excited about that. Is it–” he trailed off. 
“No, go on.” At least this conversation was proving to help distract me. Pietro sighed heavily. “Are you not excited about it because you don’t want to lose what you and Clint built?”
“No it’s not–not that.”
“Then what?”
I flicked my wings out in annoyance, trying to ignore the clenching in my stomach. Finally I whispered, “What if, they come back and find out and they don’t want me anymore?”
“Find out that you hooked up with Clint?”
My sight blurred with unshed tears and my voice dropped even lower. “No, what if they find out about the baby and that I can’t–can’t–” I couldn’t even say the rest. But thankfully, I didn’t seem to need to. 
“Don’t be silly, Angel,” Pietro came over to me, pulling me against his chest in a hug. “Steve and Bucky love you, I doubt anything could change that.”
“Maybe.” 
I wasn’t so sure though. I knew how much they wanted children. Both of them. It was something that they wanted back before they even went off to war. I hadn’t even told them about the baby we had created before they blipped. And if they came back, and learned I not only kept that a secret from them but that my powers caused me to lose it and made it so I can’t have any ever?
How could they forgive me for that?
Pietro’s watch beeped, and he pulled away. “Looks like it’s time.”
He was walking over to the control panel when the machine hummed to life and spit out the team. 
“Did we get ‘em all?” Bruce asked. 
“Are you telling me this actually worked?” Rhodey said, amazement coloring his voice. 
While the others broke out in smiles, my eyes settled on Clint. He was soaking wet and something was seriously wrong. When he dropped to his knees, the others looked around. 
Bruce stepped forward. “Clint, where’s Nat?”
I knew, I knew from the look on his face. Nat was lost. 
 
~*~*~*~
 
After the stones were secured, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint, and I ended up out on the docks. Those of the original team who were left. Clint’s head was pressed against my abdomen as I stroked his hair. His grief was so strong it was palpable. Nat had been his best friend. The one person besides his wife and kids he loved the most. The person he could always count on. And he couldn’t stop her from sacrificing herself. 
“Do–do we know if she had any family?” Tony was looking at Clint.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Us.”
Thor walked over, hands on his hips. “What?”
“Huh?” 
“What are you doing?” Thor demanded, bristling. 
“Just asked him a question.” Tony explained. 
“Yeah, no, you’re acting like she’s dead. Why are we acting like she’s dead? We have the stones, right?” Thor insisted. “As long as we have the stones, we can bring her back. Right? So, stop this shit. We’re the Avengers. Get it together.”
“Can’t get her back.” Clint bit the words off, lifting his head from my stomach. 
“What’s he–what?”
Voice rough, Clint stared off over the lake. “It can’t be undone. It can’t.”
Thor laughed ruefully glancing at the others before looking back at Clint. “Look, I’m sorry, no offense, but you’re a very earthly being, okay? And we’re talking about space magic. And ‘can’t’ seems very definitive. Don’t you think?”
Clint stood. “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,” Thor said. 
“It can’t be undone.” Clint’s voice rose, his anger and grief getting the better of him. “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.”
Thor’s eyes dropped away, and I could feel everyone’s guilt and pain. I rested my hand on Clint’s arm, murmuring his name quietly. 
“It was supposed to be me.” Clint’s voice broke and he looked at me, eyes tortured. “She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it.”
Bruce suddenly grunted in anger, picking up the bench and throwing it out across the water. Everyone looked at him as he turned around to face us. “She’s not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to.”
“We will,” I said, as Clint pulled me against his chest and buried his face in my hair. 
The others walked back towards the compound while we stood there a moment longer. When he lifted his head, he tipped my face up to give me a fierce kiss. Pulling away from me he whispered, “Come on. We better go see if we can make this work.” 
 
~*~*~*~
 
“Alright, the glove is ready.” Rocket looked up from where he was bent over examining it. “Question is, who’s gonna snap their freaking fingers?”
“I’ll do it.” 
“Excuse me?” Tony asked, watching Thor stride across the room. 
“It’s okay.” 
“Woah,” Tony moves to intercept the Asgardian. “Stop, stop, slow down.”
“Thor. Just wait.” Rhodey said, resting a hand on his chest. “We haven’t decided who’s gonna put that on yet.”
“I’m sorry. What, we’re all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?”
“We should at least discuss it,” Scott puts in. 
“Look, sitting here staring at the thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I’m the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls on me.”
“Normally, you’re right,” Tony stepped forward and while the two bicker, my eyes fall on Bruce, who’s standing with his arms crossed and glowering at the glove. 
“What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?” Thor demands. 
“Cheez Whiz?” Rhodey quips and Thor stabs a finger at him. 
“Lightning.”
“Lightning won’t help you, pal,” Bruce finally speaks, his arms dropping to his sides. “Its gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him. None of you could survive.”
“How do we know you will?” Clint asked. 
“We don’t. But the radiation’s mostly gamma. It’s like–” Bruce shakes his head for a moment. “I was made for this.”
A few minutes later, Bruce is holding the glove and Tony is asking, “You good to go?”
“Let’s do it.” 
“Okay remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago you’re just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.” 
“Got it,” Bruce said. 
Everyone moved into a ready position. Masks dropping into position for those who had them. Clint shifted his body so that I was positioned behind him. Even though I had my suit, I let him because I understood his instinctual need to protect. He drew an arrow and notched it while I slipped my daggers out. Tony’s suit spread across his body and he lifted his hand and the shield it created to block the three of us. 
“Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will ya?”
Barriers closed the lab in and Bruce glanced up at the ones closing over the glass ceiling. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the glove and muttered, “Everybody comes home.”
The second it was on, Bruce dropped to his knees, struggling with the power of it. As he fought with it, panting and struggling to bring his fingers together, it was like there was a collective inhale. 
Bruce’s fingers snapped, and he collapsed, the glove falling free.  
“Bruce!” Thor, Tony, Clint and I rushed forward. I kneel by his head, barking out the order that no one move him while Clint kicks the glove further away from him. 
Using a cooling agent on the damage on Bruce’s arm, Tony asks in an undertone, “Can you heal him?”
Reaching out, I laid my hand on his forehead, wincing as the full force of his pain washes through me. “I don’t know, I’ve never been able to heal Hulk before and with Bruce being well–like this his body is so different. I don’t think my powers will work that well on him.”
As the safety barriers lift, Bruce reaches out and grips Thor’s hand. “Did it work?”
“We’re not sure. It’s okay.”
While I let my power out in tendrils, trying to see what I could do for Bruce’s injury, I heard the soft buzzing sound. Glancing up, I see Clint looking over his shoulder at one of the tables. He walks over to it, and to the cell phone that’s the source of the buzzing. 
I can see the disbelief on his face as he lifts the phone and answers it. “Honey?”
Laura. It had to be. Honey was what he had always called Laura. Ignoring the stab of pain that the single word triggers in me, I glance back down at Bruce’s face confused as I realized there was a shadow moving over it. 
The lab explodes. 
 
~*~*~*~
 
Everything hurt. It was the first conscious thought Clint had as he grunted and pushed up from where he’d fallen. Groaning as he struggled to his feet, he switched his light on and passed it around the area he’d fallen before looking up through the hole he’d fallen. 
Concern for the others popped into his mind, especially for Angel and he couldn’t stop from calling out for her. There wasn’t any response. The others had all been mostly grouped around Bruce. He’d stepped to a different part of the lab because his phone was going off. 
And it had been Laura.
Clearly the snap had worked, but why the hell had the compound exploded?
Looking back up the hole, Clint knew he wasn’t getting back up that way, which meant he had to find a different way. Had to find the others. And Angel. He needed to find Angel. Glancing around again, he saw an opening and headed towards it. It seemed to lead to sewers or something like it.
The rubble he disturbed tinkled against something metallic and kneeling, his light landing on the glove. Apparently, it had joined him in his fall. Shaking his head, he shoved rocks and dirt off it. 
A quiet growl pulled his attention back to his surroundings. And drawing an arrow as he stood, he pivoted around. The growl came again. He couldn’t see for shit. Releasing the arrow, his breath caught when it lit up the tunnel and the creatures that were swarming it. 
“Okay, time to go.” Flicking his bow closed, he snatched up the glove and took off at a sprint. 
 
~*~*~*~
 
“Come on, Angel, wake up.” A foot nudges my leg and I gasp as I return to consciousness. “That’s my girl.” 
Tony knelt by my side. Glancing around at what had once been the compound and now was a ruin, while my ribs sung with pain, I asked, “What happened?”
“You mess with time, it tends to mess back. You’ll see.” Tony answers, helping me to my feet and leading me towards where Thor is standing and surveying the grounds. Or what used to be the grounds. Or more importantly, the monster sitting on a piece of rubble in the middle of all that mess. 
“What’s he been doing?” I asked. 
“Absolutely nothing,” Thor responds. 
“Where are the stones?” 
Tony gestures vaguely. “Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn’t have ‘em.”
“So, let’s keep it that way.”
“You know it’s a trap right?” Thor asks quietly. 
“Yeah,” Tony answers, the tiniest smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “I don’t much care.”
“Good. Just as long as we’re all in agreement.”
I could feel Tony’s eyes on me. 
“Angel maybe you should–”
I cut him off, stretching my wings out as I felt the armor flowing over them. “Tony, if you try and suggest I stay out of this, I’m going to fucking stab you.”
“You know, I’m not sure I like this mouth that you developed in the last five years.”
Pulling my daggers, I gave him a bland look. Thunder rumbled, clouds gathering and turning black as Thor held out his hands, lightning sparking off him the moment Stormbreaker and Mjolnir connected with them. “Let’s kill him properly this time.”
We approached Thanos slowly. He finally glanced up in acknowledgement of our presence. “You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me?”
His gaze slid between the three of us as Thor and Tony split off to the sides. His head tilted a little, and he said, “I thought by eliminating half of life the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. As long as there are those that remember what was there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be.”
“Yep, we’re all kinds of stubborn.” Tony called. 
“I’m thankful,” Thanos commented as he stood, moving over to his weapon and helmet. “Because now I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the stones you’ve collected for me I’ll create a new one, teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe.”
“Born out of blood.” I spit out, anger coursing through me suddenly. Anger at the pain this monster had created in the name of his ideal of ‘perfect’. 
Thanos’s eyes landed on me. “They’ll never know it. Because you won’t be alive to tell them.”
As he dropped into a ready position, the three of us lept into action. It was apparent that he was a formidable opponent, even without the stones amping up his power as they had in Wakanda. 
Tony landed. “Okay, Thor, hit me.”
The moment that Thor’s lightning hit the power banks of Tony’s suit, several proton blasters shot out. Unfortunately, Thanos was able to use his weapon as some kind of weird shield. Even as Tony went down, Thanos blocked Mjolnir, the hammer landing with a thud on the ground. His foot connected with my chest, the suit absorbing the impact as I flew back and rolled. 
Pushing up from the ground, I limped forward, my eyes trained on Thanos, who was currently trying to shove Stormbreaker into Thor’s chest. Without thinking about it, I reached down and wrapped my hand around Mjolnir not expecting the weapon to respond to me but so desperate to do something. 
But she did respond to me, as I lifted her, I marveled at how light she felt. Using all the strength I could muster, I tossed her. The hammer glanced off Thanos’s head, saving Thor. Holding my hand out like I’d seen Thor do countless times, I watched as Mjolnir paused in midair and returned. 
Thanos whipped around, his eyes widening a little as I caught Mjolnir and squared up to him. Vaguely, I heard Thor’s pained chuckle and his muttered, “I knew it!” 
Thanos kicked him to the ground before stalking towards me. Using all the skill I had gained over the years, I went after him. Dagger in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. When lightning sparked out of the hammer, skating across the ground to slam into him, I sucked in a shocked breath. It was one thing to be able to lift her, to throw her, to have her return. But apparently I could control the lightning too?
Going with it, I lifted Mjolnir to the sky watching in amazement as the power gathered and then slammed into Thanos when I directed it at him. But Thanos was no ordinary human, he wasn’t even a superhuman. He was something else entirely and so much harder to kill. Coming after me with a ferocity that threw me off until he was able to knock me back to the ground. 
Winded, I stared up at the sky for a moment, my body screaming in pain. Rolling over, I struggled to get back up. Despair creeping in when I couldn’t seem to get up the energy for it. 
“In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter–It was never personal.” I pushed up enough to be able to look at him where he was standing. “But I’ll tell you now, what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet? I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.”
The battlefield lit up, Thanos’s army having finally arrived. Taking a deep breath, groaning with the effort, I forced myself back to my feet. Spreading my wings out, drawing my last dagger, I grunted in pain even while I limped my way towards him. If I was going to die today, I wasn’t going to do it laying down. 
There was a burst of static in my ear, and a fuzzy but familiar voice said, “Hey, girlie, you read me?”
Panting, I tried to process what just happened. Surely, I hadn’t heard what I thought I heard. But then the voice came again. “Angel, it’s Sam. Can you hear me?”
I touched my ear piece and heard Sam say, “We’re on your back girlie.”
Turning, I watched as a portal opened up behind me, three people stepping through the golden light. Squinting, I realized it was T’Challa, Shuri and Okoyo. Sam flew through even as other portals opened. Dozens of them. Maybe even hundreds. And from every single one, allies walked through. Every person and more who had fought against Thanos the first time. 
Swallowing thickly, I searched for the two figures I thought I’d never see before. Fear and hope mingling together in a soup of emotions inside of me. And then, I found them. Standing side-by-side. Steve and Bucky . Before I could do anything about it, what remained of the compound exploded outwards as Scott grew into his gigantic size, opening his hand and depositing Bruce, Rocket and Rhodey on the ground. 
There was a loud, overwhelming shout that rippled through the gathered masses, and focusing back on the task at hand, I turned to face Thanos once more. No longer alone. 
“Avengers!” I shouted as I caught Mjilnor, “Assemble.”
The defenders of Earth, of the universe, charged. Thanos’s army responded. The fight raged on. Then Clint’s voice was in our comms. “Tony! What do you want me to do with this damn thing?”
“Get those stones as far away as possible!” Steve shouted, having made his way over to where I was fighting and taking out the opponent I was in the middle of taking down.
“No.” Bruce called out. “We need to get ‘em back where they came from.”
“No way to get them back, Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel.” Tony said. 
“Hold on,” Scott said, and in the distance I watched his giant form disappear. “That wasn’t our only time machine.”
Impossibly, the blaring sound of La Cucaracha played throughout the battlefield and I saw Steve whip around and jog his way up a pile of rubble for a higher vantage point. “Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?”
“Yes!” It was Valkyrie who answered, surveying the field from her winged steed. “But you’re not gonna like where it’s parked.” 
“Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?” Tony asked. 
“Uh, maybe 10 minutes.” Scott answered, not sounding completely confident with that answer. 
“Get it started.” Steve said, “We’ll get the stones to you.” 
He shot me a look and then took off. Adjusting my grip on Mjilnor, I glanced around to see where it would be best for me to be. Spying Thanos, I headed that way, skidding to a stop when Wanda dropped in front of him. 
“You took everything from me.” Her eyes, and her power glowed the brightest I’d ever seen. 
Thanos shook his head at her. “I don’t even know who you are.”
She tilted her head slightly, all attitude. “You will.” 
I watched in awe as she fought against him. And then Thanos called out, “ Rain fire!”
The ship in the air lit up, rockets firing at a constant and steady pace onto the battlefield below. Thanos was firing on everyone, including his own troops. As the wizards put up shields to protect those who had no defense from them, those of us that could kept fighting. It wasn’t looking good, but then almost as suddenly as the bombs started to rain down, they stopped. Readjusting to something coming in from the upper atmosphere. 
I couldn’t help but smile. Carol Danvers had returned and she was a force to be reckoned with. As she and the others fought to get the glove to Scott and the van, I took off in the direction of where Thanos was fighting. 
There was a loud explosion, causing me to stumble. Rolling, wings flaring to stop my momentum, I lifted away from the ground catching sight of my goal. Shaking it off, I started to run, my eyes trained on where Thor, Tony, Steve were fighting with Thanos. 
He broke away from them, landing a brutal fist onto Steve before rolling away towards the glove. Switching directions, I headed for Steve while Carol took over fighting Thanos, trying her best to get the glove away from him. 
Skidding to a stop, I reached out and laid my hands on Steve’s chest, seeking out the damage. He was knocked out, hurt, but it wasn’t fatal. I pushed enough healing energy into him to get him to wake up, and watched as he blinked dazedly. Hearing the grunt, I looked up in time to see Thanos had gotten the glove on, using the power stone to shove Carol away from him. Fear gripped me, and I watched in horror as he returned the stone to the glove and the power from surrounding him. 
Seemingly out of nowhere, Tony was there, grabbing onto the glove and trying to yank it off. It was incredibly easy for Thanos to knock him away, and as he tumbled free, Thanos straightened. 
Holding up the glove, evil smile on his face, Thanos said, “I am inevitable.”
But when he snapped his fingers, nothing happened. Gasping, he twisted his wrist and stared at the glove. Confused, my eyes dropped to Tony, where he was kneeling on the ground hand raised as his suit incorporated the six infinity stones. His eyes squeezed shut as the strength of the stones pumped through his body. 
Tony’s eyes opened and they settled on my face for a moment, the smallest of smirks coming and going. Panting, he looked back up at Thanos. “And I–am. Iron Man.”
With one final deep breath, Tony snapped his fingers, a wave of light and energy flowing outward. Every single one of the enemy dusted away, until only Thanos was left. Helping Steve stand, we watched as he sat down on a stone, breathing heavily before he too was gone. Blowing away in a cloud of dust. 
Glancing around, looking for Tony, I saw him collapsing to the ground. Rhodey, Peter and Pepper already gathered around him. 
“No,” I grit it out, pushing away from Steve’s grasp and leaping into the air. I dropped to the ground next to him, wincing as his pain hit me like a truck without me even needing to touch him. 
“Pepper, here, let me. Let me try okay.” I muttered, touching her shoulder before I shifted closer to him. 
Reaching out, I laid my hands on his chest, feeling the tears falling while I struggled to push the remaining energy I had left into healing. His life force was so weak, I feared I was too late. But still, I pushed it into him. 
“Angel,” Steve’s voice was a low, “I don’t think–”
“No!” I cut him off, refusing to give up. I pushed until, feeling my own life force starting to ebb as I struggled to heal the damage. Arms came around me, pulling me away from him, holding me against warm leather. Before he even spoke, I knew it wasn’t Steve who was holding me. 
“C’mon, baby, you gotta stop,” Clint’s voice was a low murmur in my ear, his face pressing against my hair. 
“Clint, I can’t–”
More tears spilled as my voice gave out, pain and grief constricting my throat until I couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but bury my face into his neck. His hand brushed down my hair, stroking it’s way down a wing as he told me that I tried and it was enough now.
Suddenly, there was a weak coughing, I jerked my head up and towards Tony. Crawling back over to him, I reached out and laid my hand against his chest, feeling the change in him. He blinked several times, his head lolling a little before he was able to focus on those of us who were gathered around. 
“Why are all of you crying. You’re acting like I’m dead or something,” he snarked, his voice weak but it was still one hundred percent Tony. I threw my arms around his neck and he grunted in pain. “Oh, hey, you mind? You know I don’t like the mushy stuff.”
Chuckling weakly, tears streaming, I pulled back enough to offer him a weak smile. “Well, that’s just too bad. Dad .”