fiction | Part of the journey is the end

4. The tomb

Selim walked into another chamber in the Great Pyramid of Giza, carrying Khonshu's ushabti and he placed it on the shelf. It was just one of many ushabtis.

Khonshu, Thor, and Loki were utterly horrified at seeing all the ushabtis. Thor and Loki were incredibly relieved that they didn't have the practice of imprisoning someone in stone like the Egyptian gods; they just had normal imprisonment and banishment instead.

Layla shook Steven trying to get him to wake up in the desert. Suddenly, a car's headlights shined at her, and she dragged Steven away.

Fear clawed up the Avengers' throats, and the color drained from Marc and Layla's faces.

"Harrow's people are following them everywhere!" Steve exclaimed.

The two rolled down a dune. Someone from the car shot at them but missed.

They were frightened down to the soles of their shoes for Steven and Layla.

"Steven doesn't even have the armor now," Shang-Chi pointed out.

"Shit, that's going to be a problem," said Carol.

"He needs to let Marc front once he wakes up," said Natasha. "Marc's trained, he can deal with this even if he doesn't have the armor."

Marc frowned. "That is if Steven lets me front."

"You two have to find out a way to communicate better. The Hulk and I have to figure out stuff too," said Bruce.

Marc considered it. He and Steven weren't bleeding into each other's lives yet, but what if they would? He still didn't know the inciting incident for the system to go out of control, and it would be nice to not deal with the constant arguing about who was going to take the body.

Bruce was kind and understanding, and he made Marc feel like he wasn't completely insane. He reminded him of Steven. Although Bruce didn't have to deal with a god in his head, he had some understanding of what it was like dealing with another person in the same body. It was more than he ever had, and to know that Bruce dealt with all of this and was still a respected Avenger? It gave him hope that he could get his life together and actually be a stable human being for once. Marc tried to hide his DID, but he didn't want to hide and be ashamed anymore. He just wanted to be him. He knew he couldn't be cured, but he needed to at least find a better way to live.

Layla ran back to her jeep, climbed inside, and hid. A man shouted in Arabic that he saw someone running and to check around the truck. They shined a light into the jeep, but she hid underneath the seat.

Everyone's hearts were beating incredibly fast, worried for Layla. She wouldn't go down without a fight, but Harrow's disciples wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

They drove to Steven's body and thought he was dead.

"Luckily, he's not dead," said Stephen.

Layla grabbed a flare, got out of the car, and fired it. She threw it into a box of explosives at the cultists' van, causing it to explode.

Layla smiled proudly, Marc gaped, and the rest of the Avengers grinned.

"Smart," Thor noted.

A conscious Steven looked at Layla, captivated.

Marc scowled, Layla was flattered, and everyone else was amused.

Steven and Layla drove through the desert at dawn. "We can't lose more time. Harrow must be headed back to the tomb. Look, if he is, we're gonna need Marc, yeah?" she told him.