Project: A Stark Winter

Chapter Seven: Fade to Black

Strange motions for you to follow him toward a clear area of the streets of New York where rubble and chaos had not yet left their mark. Activating his mystical magic, he pulls a locked book from a portal to his right and floats it in the air before him; searching for answers. Steve and Bucky follow closely at your heels, ready to pounce on any ill intention Strange might have toward you, a fierce determination to protect you at all costs. The mystical energy swirled in the air as it turned the pages of this ancient book and wrapped itself around you both.
"Soooo what-" You are immediately shushed by Strange who is lost in concentration, not even looking up at your brief interjection. Rolling your eyes and stepping forward you try again,
"Strange, what are you looking for?"
"This is The Darkhold, an ancient tome that I uh, picked up from the library of Kamar-Taj." He mutters on a deep sigh, hands still flying around, dragging magical runes around the air. You instantly pick up on his choice of words and raise an eyebrow at the wizard who simply shrugs. Suddenly he slams the book shut and turns to look at you, his lips set in a grim line.
"Bad news or worse news?" He asks you with a straight face as if trying to detach himself from you. You stare at him dumbly which leads him to ask the question again with more impatience.
"Y/n, bad news or worse news first?"
"Is this some kind of joke to you?" Bucky's sharp tone cuts through the tension of this moment as he fixes Strange with a menacing look. Steve rests a hand on Bucky's shoulder to calm him down as he nods at Strange to continue his explanation. Pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to summon the courage to continue, Strange lets a beat of silence pass. He looks sadly into your eyes as he speaks,
"The worse news is that I cannot find a way for you to exist in this universe without it bringing about armageddon." His words hit you like a ton of bricks, knocking the breath you held free from your lungs in a whoosh of air. Mind already reeling from what his words meant for you, you lean against a parked car on the street and try and gather yourself.
"We already knew that, I guess. So this is the part where you tell me how I die." Bucky growls lowly as he leans forward, getting ready to fight.
"That's not what I had in mind. Care to hear me out or not?" Nodding your head you gesture for Strange to continue knowing there's more.
"The regular bad news or good news depending on how you look at it is that you just can't exist in this universe."
"What the hell does that even mean, Strange?" Bucky snapped, looking more volatile by the second, anger and impatience dripping off of him.
"Well, not that I'm happy about it, but if we put her through a portal to-"
"Absolutely not." Steve cuts him off quickly, not allowing him to finish the thought.
"Hold on Steve, this might be the only way to fix the mess I made." You plead with him desperately trying to get him to look into your eyes to soften him a bit, but Steve's not hearing it as he tilts his head to avert his gaze from yours.
"It's either this or death and you're telling me no?" Strange quips incredulously. He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms.
"Steve, there's not many options left. This is it." You plead, resting your hands on his chest hoping he will listen.
"But we still lose you, y/n. Either way you're gone." Bucky mumbles; his voice sad and resigned. He looks at Steve who sets his jaw firmly having made up his mind.
"It's not happening, whatever it is. We don't trade lives, y/n." As you open your mouth to protest his order, the ground begins to shake as the tear in the sky widens yet again. Screams of fear sound around you as the wind pick up to even more dangerous levels and pull more of the city into the black hole of space above you.
"Find another way! Buck, on me!" Steve shouts above it all, giving you one last pleading look, as he and Bucky jog away to join the fray once more. The tear in the sky is ruthless as it unleashes hell on the world below. Even in the dark evening light you can tell that the damage is devastating. Suddenly a sharp pain rips through your veins as you barely catch small ripples run through them toward your fingers. A lurch in your stomach and dizzy feeling in your skull cause you to sway slightly on your feet. The timeline must be trying to get rid of the anomaly. I don't belong here. A moment passes and soon it's as if the weird sensation never happened. You trace your fingers over the veins and sigh. Feeling hopeless as you watch the destruction rain down around you, you almost miss Stephen's soft grumble beside you, "It's the only way."
He looks at you dismally, knowing that he's torn between you and the city and wanting so desperately to protect the timeline he vowed to preserve.
"I know." You chuckle joylessly, the sound of it getting lost in the wind. You both stand there knowing what comes next, but not wanting to make the first move.
Watching the men you love with a sad smile, tears cascade down your cheeks. There was nothing left to do. There was no last trick up your sleeve, no hail mary this time or way to undo the damage you caused. To protect them, you'd have to leave them forever. You now understood exactly what your father had felt the moment he chose to take the stones from Thanos. The sacrifice he had made wasn't one he made lightly; as he had looked at you choosing between his daughter living her life to the fullest or not even letting you have the chance. In your sadness and grief, you hadn't been able to see the choice for what it was, an act of love to you, not just the world. He wanted you to grow old and have a family, appreciating every breath you took even if he had to miss it. Everything you had done from the moment he had died, had been through the lens of the girl who lost her father when it should have been the girl whose father gave her a second chance at life. This realization comes too late as the universe around you is collapsing in a fit of rage against your very existence. You'd make this right, not only for the world but for everyone you love that you had taken for granted. Mustering all the courage you could, you set your posture in a firm stance as you turn to look at Strange full on. He nods resolutely knowing that your decision didn't come lightly, his eyes shining with respect and gratitude. His arms and hands move quickly to activate the time stone and create a portal to another universe. You watch as the ribbons of mystical energy all converge on a fixed point before you, slowly building themselves up until a fully formed portal opens before you. Peering through the portal you're not quite sure what you're looking at as it all seems a bit blurry and unclear, like looking through sleep-filled eyes early in the morning.
"Where am I going?" You shout loudly to Strange.
"I'm not exactly sure. It's just a universe that you don't exist in, but it should be Earth at the very least." Reassuring. Nodding numbly, you swallow down the nerves that flurry around inside you. This you had to do there and there was no turning back. Having seen the portal forming, Bucky and Steve shouted for you to stop as they rushed for you. It was now or never. If you let them reach you, you'd never be able to leave. As they rounded the last of the debris you knew you had to go as sobs began to escape your throat.
"I love you." You mouthed to them both, holding your hand out in the sign language for the phrase. The rest of the team, being alerted by the gut-wrenching screams from Bucky and Steve as they try to reach you in time, stare on grimly; tears falling from their faces. You take one last, fond look at each of them. Your family.
"Wish me luck." You whisper to Strange who smiled through tears, nodding to you as you leap through the portal. An odd sensation courses through your body as you materialize from one universe to another. Your veins bulge and pulse with a feeling like lava coursing through them causing you to scream out in pain. Every fiber of your muscles aches in protest to the effort placed on them as you feel yourself nearly being torn apart. Screams ripped from your throat reverberate in this weird, liminal space, feeling pain tear through you.  In the midst of the journey through time a strange voice cuts through. You don't know if you're imagining it or if your subconscious is trying to remind you of what got you here in the fist place. Just like I expected, little one. Too curious for her own good. But what goes up.....must come down. The voice chuckles as you tumble through space and time; a crackle of energy shattering your chest with pain and filling your lungs with what feels like heavy, oily liquid. Your screams come out muffled and strained as your life force struggles against the pull of the stream in this portal. Just as you feel your body cannot take anymore a bright light begins to grow closer when you break through the end of the portal which closes quickly; leaving you free falling to the ground. Your vision is blurry and fading due to the physical strain as you crash into cool tile; then everything goes black.