Project: A Stark Winter

Chapter Six: Man With A Plan

You lay there on the cold, dead planet of Titan awaiting the imminent death you knew was coming from the rubble you heard crashing around you; eyes closed and curled in the fetal position. This date was deserved; karmic retribution for messing with time in a foolish attempt at bringing back humanities one attempt at survival. You brace yourself against the impending painful end, but it doesn't not come. After a moment you hear a sarcastic, new york accent call out to you,
"Are you gonna lay there all day or do you want to get out of here?"
Opening your eyes, you see glittering gold rune patterns creating a barrier over your body in swirling patterns. They sparkled and shone against the dark you were currently trapped in as the planet had collided on your patch of ground. Eyes wide in shock, you stare dumbly at Stephen Strange who looks more than a bit annoyed.
"Please, feel free to take your time." He snarks again quickly, hands beginning to shake from the effort he exerts to hold the falling rocks at bay. Stumbling to your feet you rush to Strange and grasp him firmly as he pulls you through the portal he had created; stomach lurching as you are pulled from one universe to the next with the sound of falling debris crashing on the spot where you laid a moment before. You fall on top of Stephen; both falling in a tangle of arms and legs, meeting the hardwood floor of the Sanctum Sanctorum safe and sound in New York. Over your back, he makes wild hand gestures and you hear a mystical wooshing sound as the portal closes behind you. He rests his hands on the small of your back lightly as you both lay there reeling from what just happened. Afraid to move, you keep your head on Stephen's chest as you feel the rise and fall of his breathing and hear his beating heart. Alive. I'm alive. You squeeze your hands into fists at his sides trying to gain composure when you had just talked yourself into being okay with death.
"Is this real?" You murmur so softly he almost misses it. He tilts his chin down to the top of your head to look at you, taking in your pale face and trembling body. Resting his head back against the cold floor he takes a deep breath.
"It's real." He confirms gently, holding you just for a moment. Tears prick the back of your eyes as you pinch them shut to keep the tides at bay. His hand brushes your hair from your faces as he finally feels your body relax to a calmer state.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." Stephen quips as he sits up and pushes you briskly off his chest, the magical cape brushing off his clothes as he begins pacing the foyer of the Sanctorum.
"What you did was reckless, stupid, selfish, immature. You jeopardized everything that we had worked so hard for and almost made a complete mockery of your father's sacrifice. What do you have to say for yourself?" Stephen lectured angrily, nostrils flaring and hands waving wildly as he gestured to your incompetence.
"I didn't mean to—
"Oh, that's just great. 'Sorry about that little slip up of almost DESTROYING THE WORLD. I didn't mean to.' Come on, y/n. You are not some dumb kid. What were you thinking."
"I-I just missed him. I thought I had the math right and it turns out I was wrong."
"Yeah, no shit. I should have never left you unattended after he died. Your capacity for self destruction is unparalleled." As you are about to argue back in your defense a man comes running down the central staircase, alerted by the commotion of you and Stephen falling through the portal. He takes in the sight before him of you still sitting on the floor and Stephen red-faced and angry staring at you caught mid-lecture.
"What the hell, Strange!" He shouts at the wizard who towers above you, who simply rolls his eyes and shrugs.
"Calm down, Wong. Little Stark, here had been messing with time. We were able to cut Thanos off from our universe and I was able to save her from imminent death, which by the way, you're welcome ." Strange sarcastically throws in your direction with a snarky expression coloring his face. Wong stares at him in disbelief, opening and shutting his mouth while he searches for what to say.
"Dude, stop flopping your mouth like a fish out of water and say what you want to say." Strange places his hands on his hips as he prepares for another sassy remark, but Wong cuts him off with a raise of his hand.
"Strange, the multiverse...it's fractured." Wong gasped out on a held breath, terror plainly written on his face. All semblance of composure and attitude drain from Stephen as he activates the Time stone and creates a mystical image of the timeline in the stale air of the foyer. You stare on in horror as the once straight timeline breaks into 10, 20, 50 different lines of pocket universes like limbs on a twisted and mangled tree. Slowly Stephen turns to glare at you.
"What. Did. You. DO ?" His voice is calm and controlled but dripping with hostility. Jumping to your feet you back away from Stephen slightly, unsure of what exactly was happening but knowing it was bad.
"I-I don't know. We just opened the portal and tried to bring my dad back, we programmed the portal to go to a point where he was alone but it opened on Titan and..." You trailed off realizing your mistake. The exotic matter. You are the biggest fucking idiot.
"Why Titan, and how was Thanos even there?" Stephen continues his line of questioning, oblivious to your soul-crushing realization.
"We used exotic matter to activate the portal. It was from Titan, the day we fought Thanos there..." You mumble out your confession, scolding yourself for your stupidity. The exotic matter you used had been miscalculated, oversight of your hurried build. By using what you had taken from Titan, it became your focal point when you opened the portal. The event that you were trying to change was so absolute that time itself groaned in protest. Stephen ran a hand over his face, outlining his goatee as he paced back and forth.
"Okay, so. You opened a portal to Titan, fought him a bit, but kept him in his universe pocket. What could possibly be the thing tearing the universe apart?"
"Her." Wong sighed, gesturing to you. "She was a fixed point in that timeline. She was supposed to die there."
"What? How could she be the breaking point? I was there the day we fought a Thanos and she didn't die. She made it off with Tony." Stephen asks incredulously, not fully understanding Wong's point. Wong shakes his head and sighs deeply. His sad eyes meet your own as you immediately catch his meaning.
"No." Stephen chokes out as he throws his hands up in a stop motion. "That's not it. There has to be another reason. I-I felt the shift of someone messing with time and I couldn't let her die Wong. That can't be it." He takes a rushed step toward you and looks you over analyzing your every feature for any sign of something you weren't sure of. You give him a tight smile as you turn to Wong.
"I felt it when I was laying there on Titan. I felt the end." You whisper to Wong softly, looking at your feet and shuffling in place. Strange looks between you and Wong, shocked and confused. Wong continues his walk down the steps and over to you as he manipulates the mystical energy that floats around the room. As he pulls it closer to your body, it fractures and splinters away wildly, confirming his suspicions. You sadly glance at Stephen who sorrowfully watches Wong at work.
"I was, just trying to help..." He murmurs as he squeezes his forehead, pushing down the mounting headache that is forming there.
"When you pulled her from Titan the timeline shifted, now that she exists again in this universe it's become dangerously unstable. The longer she's here, the more damage she will cause to our world." Wong explains in a short and monotonous voice, careful to keep emotion from staining his diagnosis. With a clap of his hands the mystical energy vanishes, letting his hands fall to his side he stares at Stephen, awaiting a plan of action. As you watch Strange battle his inner moral compass, your mind whirls with what happens next. If you were damaging the universe there was no way you could continue to exist in this timeline. The people who loved you already thought you were dead, so there would be no rescue today. If your dad were here, he'd come up with some genius plan to make sure everyone won, but as you try and summon all of the Stark that lives inside you, your mind comes up empty. As you three stand there with the unspoken notion that you dying would be the only way to solve this conundrum and set the universe right again, the ground shakes violently. Various items plummet off shelves and crash to the ground with dust raining from the ceiling above. The echoes of whatever threat is causing the commotion reverberate through the room and cause a chill to run down your spine. It takes all your balance to keep on your feet as shrieks and screams sound from the streets outside the door. You all make your way to the front door and as Wong throws open the door, you all stare in terror at the shimmering tear in the night sky. It looked as if someone took a dagger to the sky and roughly cut it from horizon to horizon. From the vast expanse fell stone, buildings, and debris onto the unsuspecting citizens of New York. The energy from the tear in the universe whipped around in the air causing a low buzzing noise as it bent and warped the world around it. This was all because of me. Slowly New York was pulled into the gaping maw of the tear, people around you rushed past looking for a place to be safe and hide from the threat in the sky as the wind picked up speed. You stare on in horror as these people ran for their lives; tripping over debris and yanking their loved ones back to their feet in hopes of escaping death. A woman coward behind a car clutching a child to her side as they cried and prayed while a few feet away a man scrambled his way over a fallen section of apartment while pieces of other buildings rained down around him. More screams and cries rang out through the city as you stood on the stoop of the Sanctum Santorum knowing that there was but one way for this to end. Lightning crackled in the sky as the buzz became a deafening roar with the intensity of the universe protesting growing by the minute. Your body responded with an electric feel in your bones in time with the widening of the tear.
"The universe is collapsing!" Wong yelled above the chaos, his robes whipping around him. He looked at Strange for answers, but Strange stared at you sadly.
"I'm sorry, y/n. There's only-"
"Strange! With this level of damage they will be here soon. We need to keep her away." Wong shouts to his friend, gesturing to you in a panic. They?
As if on cue, and perhaps summoned by the impending doom, the Avengers appeared down the street having been dropped off by a quinjet. They began aiding people with seeking refuge; pointing and directing the chaos. You watched as Steve, clad fully in his Captain America suit, radiated strength and authority; the undisputed leader of the team. Your heart ached as your eyes followed his every move; staring as if in a trance. How was he feeling? Was he sad or angry? Did he miss me? Your feet took an unconscious step down the front steps in his direction as a familiar shape moved in your peripheral next to him. Wanda moved fallen stone and buildings out of the way and caught the still falling debris to aid the team's efforts in leading the citizens to safety. She was kind hearted and always kept you entertained with her teasing side and gossip sessions while going through celebrity magazines. She had missed out on so many 'normal' girl things that you both spent many girls night indulging in those inner child healing moments. She moved next to her team mates as Peter, Clint, and Sam moved people into open buildings, carrying the injured and sharing reassuring smiles as they did so. You felt a sense of pride deep in your chest as you watched them work, seeing the superheroes that the citizens of this world saw. You loved them so deeply; your family. It was until your foot hit a car tire that you realized you had walked into the fray; subconsciously wanting to be closer to them. Wanda goes to move a city bus, the only thing keeping you hidden, next to where you are standing when Strange grabbed you quickly shoving you behind him and Wong to keep the team from seeing you.
"Stay out of sight!" He hisses at you, shoving you in the direction of a nearby alley. You trudge along slowly, your legs feeling heavy as your heart stays behind with the people that you need most right now. Wing calls out for Stange as they join in for a moment to help New York against the damage you are causing.
"Stay there and wait for me until I get your mess under control." Backing up slowly, your shoulders slump while slinking deeper into the alley when suddenly your back bumps into something solid and warm. Turning swiftly, you see Bucky's heartbroken face melt into one of relief and disbelief as he pulls you into his arms and drags you even farther into the alley. He buries his face into your hair and breathes in the familiar scent of you as his arms run down the length of your back waist in a vice-like grip. He stays like that for a beat, taking in that you are here and alive. You gently rub circles into his back and kiss the top of his head. Pulling back, he takes your face in both his hands holding it inches from his own.
"You're here." He murmurs, beaming while checking you for any sign of injury and making sure you are real.
"I am." You whisper back, with a smile to match his, though yours holds more sadness and heartache. For now.
"That was fucking stupid, y/n. I thought I had lost you!" He scolds you half-heartedly, painting on a fake angry face that doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"I thought you'd be used to stupid, with Steve as a best friend." You snark back quickly, giving him a light nudge on the chest.
"Ha yeah, but somehow it never gets easier watching the people I love, pick a fight." He counters on a small laugh as his eyes focus on your holding you there at that moment. All the air in your lungs rushes out at once at the implication of Bucky's words. You stare at him searching for what to say.
The moment is shattered as Strange calls for you from the end of the alleyway,
"Y/n! You are obscenely bad at following directions, has anyone ever told you that?" Unlacing yourself from Bucky's hold, you look guiltily at Strange who rolls his eyes and strides up to you quickly.
"Technically, he found me." You snap in protest pointing to Bucky who stands there radiating anger, but Strange is hearing none of it. He holds his hands up to silence any further arguments and begins dragging you from the darkened alley.
"Woah there, buddy. Keep your hands off her!" Bucky shouts at Stephen, shoving him into letting you go. Stephen turns toward him, completely unamused.
"Bucky, stop-" You attempt to diffuse the situation and plead with him, but Bucky's right hook to Strange's face cuts you off. Rushing to Strange's side you put yourself between him and Bucky. He looks at you in shock and help Strange to his feet allowing him to use your shoulders to keep himself upright. Strange wipes the fresh blood from his lip and chuckles lowly,
"I'll allow that since you clearly don't understand what's happening. But do that again and I won't be as forgiving."
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness. Keep your hands off her."
"Okay, you know what, maybe I should teach you a thing or two about manners."
"I got plenty of manners, pretty boy. Come over here and I'll show you how to dance."
"Dance? What the hell? I forgot you're a crotchety old man."
"Crotchety!?!"
"Alright, if you're both done with the show of masculinity," You shout at both men, stepping firmly between them. Bucky huffs at being talked down from a fight but backs away and crosses his arms over his chest, sighing. Strange rakes a hand through his hair and smirks at Bucky, but nods at you silently agreeing to stop the bickering. Before you can tell Bucky of everything that is going on, a loud crashing reverberates down the alley. Your attention is quickly pulled to the source of the sound as you see the tear has grown larger, swallowing more and more of the city. The electric feeling has moved to your veins as you thrum in time with the growing sound of energy filling the sky. That can't be good. The three of you rush to the street as you look around frantically for what to do next. Wong has joined in the fray with Wanda as they both use their energy to stop the tear from growing any larger. He calls for Stephen to join in the efforts, a pained look drawn on his face. Stephen rushes to his friend's side, hitting his wrists together he calls forth the mystic energy and wraps tendrils around the growing rift in the sky.
"This is all my fault." You admit reluctantly, Bucky's face whipping to look at you.
"No no no, it's not your fault. Thanos he..." Bucky trails off seeing the truth of your words echoed on your sullen face.
"When Strange saved me on Titan, he changed a fixed point on our timeline. All this," You explain gesturing to the madness happening around you, "Is happening because I'm here. Because I lived." Bucky looked as if he is about to crumble when he takes your shoulders in his hands and holds them firmly.
"We can fix this, though. There was to be a way."
"No Bucky, I don't think there is."
"If we have more time we can-"
"We are out of time, James." You cut him off abruptly, watching as a pang of hurt flashed in his eyes.
"I already lost you once, sweetheart. I can't lose you again." He breathed tenderly, refusing to accept the reality you were faced with. He caresses your face with his metal hand and traces your jaw with his fingers. His eyes trail your features, branding you into his memory. There were so many unspoken questions and admissions between the two of you. Questions of love, hope for a future, feelings that boiled under the surface all fighting to burst free.
"Y/n?" Comes a voice from your left followed by a clearing of his throat. Steve looks at you hesitantly taking a step forward, but stopping abruptly. His hands still raised in the air as if to reach out and touch you, trying to see if you are actually here. The look of devastation and uncertainty breaks you. All the hurt and pain you've caused him and for what? To tear apart the world he was trying so hard to protect? But despite everything that you've done he still looks at you with eyes full of love, a hopeful smile toying at the corners of his lips.
"Hi." You squeak out on a broken sob, tears blurring your vision as you run to him. He wraps you tightly in his arms and holds you while you cry.
"I am so so sorry, Steve." You wailed to him, burying your face in his suit grasping fist fulls of the material to hang on to as violent sobs wrack your body. He gently shushes you as he clutches you close to his chest, allowing you to take comfort in him. Once your cries calm down into a small hiccup and sniffle he pulls back, holding you at arm's length. Steve leans down and ever so gently places a kiss on your lips. You allow yourself to kiss him back; savoring the comfort and wholeness of Steve. He breaks the kiss and wipes away the last of your lingering tears as your eyes dart over to see Bucky in your peripheral looking surprisingly unfazed. The guilt crept in as you turn back to look into Steve's cool, blue eyes. 
"I'm terrible. I ruined everything; ruined us. I didn't mean for this to happen. God, Steve. I love you."
"You are the best thing that ever happened to me, y/n. I love you. We will figure this out, okay?"
"You're-you're not mad at me?"
"I'm just glad you're okay." He soothed, bringing a smile to your lips.
"She won't be for long." Strange pipes in unceremoniously, looking beaten and exhausted as he saunters up to your reunion.
"What does he mean?" Steve questions you, pleading for the truth. Chewing on your lip you drag your eyes to meet his, swallowing past the lump in your throat you explain your predicament. Steve watches as you speak, listening intently. He flexes his hands at his side, a sign of nervousness you knew all too well.
"All this is happening because she lived?" Steve demanded from Strange, chiseled jaw set in a firm line.
"Well, because I saved her really, again you're welcome. But yeah, in simple terms her being alive is tearing the universe apart and the only way to fix it..."
"Would be for her to...not be alive." Steve finishes for Strange, reluctantly; squeezing your hand in reassurance.
"But we aren't going to let that happen." Bucky chimes in aggressively, an aura of protectiveness radiating from him as he steps forward and your other side.
"Course not, Buck." Steve calms his best friend, sharing a look of determination with him. The three men begin bickering about what was to be done and how to fix the disaster before you. The sound of their arguing blends into the background as you take in the sight before you. Surveying the streets, you see the destruction that was caused by your careless actions. Families trembled inside broken homes, children cry out for their parents in fear, the team fighting in a futile attempt to keep the world together. It was too late for a 'lesson learned' moment as the realization sets in of the only true way to fix this mess. Your father had always taught you about accountability, to learn from his mistakes and be better. He'd had an aloof, playboy attitude for a lot of his life but when you had been left on his doorstep, a result of a casual one-night stand, it had changed his life forever. He took accountability for you when your biological mother had not, raising you to be the person you are today. Scrappy, intelligent, a little snarky but loving, and most importantly kind; a Stark. You bring your attention back to the still fighting men, smiling fondly at them all. You look at Strange summoning the courage to take the next step and ask, "What's the plan, Strange?"