Mastermind - W. Maximoff

Chapter Four

Nothing felt real to Alex as she stepped forward, surrounded by a pool of black. Her bare feet felt frozen every time they splashed into a puddle, and the air around her felt stiff every time she was forced to take a breath.

She could hear people screaming her name, screaming for their families to come back, but she couldn't hear it. She didn't listen as she heard Nat's voice, Steve begging that she wasn't gone, or even the sound of Bucky asking for her as he faded too.

Her eyes were in a trance on a blue box. She hadn't known the name of it then, but the Tesseract seemed to glow oddly. It was pulling Alex toward it, and even she didn't want to let it.

"Do it." A voice begged in her head. Her nineteen-year-old self smiled with each step toward the Tesseract. Alex crouched down next to it, placing her hand on the table it rested on. Even there she could feel an unimaginable power.

She craved that power. She craved to avenge everything HYDRA had done to her, but that wasn't just it. She wanted a power that could bring her brother and parents back.

Alex's face fell immediately at the thought. Without a second more of hesitation, her hand came in contact with the Tesseract. Her veins were white, and then they were red.

And then she passed out.

Those memories repeated for an endless amount of time. Alex didn't know how long it had been going, but she certainly didn't want to live the rest of her life thinking about HYDRA.

The nineteen-year-old was about to touch the Tesseract again, but suddenly everything emerged in black. Alex screamed from shock, jumping from her spot kneeling and spinning around.

"Hello!" Alex screamed again, her throat dry. "Who's there?"

"It's Sam. Alex, wake up!" Alex watched fearfully as everything that was black turned bright. She had been stuck in darkness for far too long, and now the sun was blinding in her eyes.

Sam stood with his arms wrapped around her, holding her upright as she took a glance around. She looked in every direction, watching people stand and be confused. Bucky ran toward her, holding her tightly.

"James, what happened? How are we alive?" Alex whispered. Her voice cracked from not being used, and Alex bent herself over a fallen tree, nausea rushing toward her.

Bucky ignored her, instead taking quick strides toward her. He held her hair back as she threw up. "Are you hurt? Were you sick when the battle started?"

Alex wiped her mouth, looking up at Bucky. She couldn't believe that the old man who was her partner in crime was about to hear her say these words. "I'm pregnant."

Bucky stood there, staring at her and blinking. He looked at the small bump that had gone unnoticed by him and found himself breaking into a grin. He held Alex close to him, letting a few silent tears slip down his face. He was going to be an uncle.

Bucky held her at arm's length, still grinning. "You're serious, Alex? You're being serious?"

Alex could only nod and smile. It felt good to tell someone other than Steve about the baby.

Steve.

Alex's smile faded. Alex pushed herself backward, hearing the strange whistle of wind again. Her hands lit up with fire as she whipped around, seeing a glowing orange portal.

"Who are you?" Alex hid her fear, outstretching her hands as a man stepped closer to her. She knew she could take him, but she didn't really want to.

"My name is Doctor Stephan Strange. It's been five years."

——————

Alex managed to find Wanda wandering off somewhere in the woods, having snapped back earlier than most of them, and was trying to find them. She gave her a big hug, kissing Wanda's forehead. It had felt like forever since she got to hold her.

"There's someone you have to meet," Alex said, guiding Wanda back to where they had all gathered. James, Sam- soldiers from Wakanda. Anybody who had blipped on that battlefield was back together. "This is the wizard."

Wanda nodded, looking at the glowing orange portal. "Is that safe?"

Doctor Strange nodded, pursing his lips. "Very. I'm on a very tight schedule, so you gotta get moving." Doctor Strange waited as they stepped through the portal, keeping it open while simultaneously opening others.

"Wow." The land around them had turned into a battlefield. Blood was on the ground, dead bodies of aliens. But all the Avengers were okay. Everyone was sent to that battle in portals, stepping out and waiting to attack.

There was still hope.

"Avengers," Alex watched with a grin on her face as Steve caught Thor's hammer. She had seen it move just the slightest bit at the party before Ultron, but she hadn't been too sure. "Assemble."

There had been silence before Steve had said those words. Everyone was thinking of what they had lost, and everyone was waiting for him to let them take it back. And now was that moment.

Alex and Wanda fought with their backs together. It was safer to have someone guarding you at all times, especially when all the Avengers were being heavily crowded around.

There were so many people on that battlefield that could kill Thanos, but the mainstream of Avengers was his biggest threat.

"I'm going after him, stay safe!" Wanda ran off, leaving Alex to protect herself. She ducked under a broken piece of Steve's shield, covering herself from the rain of bullets that came.

"Wan, now may not be the best time." Alex wanted her revenge on Thanos just as much as Wanda did, but they needed to focus on keeping the stones safe first. They had to be logical about this.

"Wanda!" Alex fell to the ground upon being trampled by a wave of bullets. Thanos was firing down on everyone, even his own army, simply to get Wanda away from him. That meant their odds of winning were getting better. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!"

Alex didn't get a response before a terrified voice yelled for anyone. "Help, somebody, help!"

She put her fight to a stop immediately. Her priority was helping the scared teenager who shouldn't have even been on that field.

Alex let a loud burst of fire roll through the ground. She focused all of her energy on Thanos' army while Steve got Peter Parker up and away from the battle. A bang sounded around the battlefield and she knew she had succeeded.

Alex fell to the ground, her head pounding. She had used all of her energy, and being snapped out of existence certainly hadn't helped it.

The last thing she was able to hear was the screaming of her teammates, but it wasn't in celebration.