Mastermind - W. Maximoff

Chapter Five

"Alex! Al, get up, it's over!" Alex was standing in an instant. Clint Barton held her up, hands on her waist as she stumbled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Al."

Alex turned in a circle, not responding to Clint. Thanos' army disappeared just as she had some five years ago, and all the fighting stopped. Everyone turned to look at one man.

Tony Stark. Someone Alex hadn't seen since the Avengers fought against each other in 2016. Pepper was by his side as he sat up against a pile of bodies, taking painful breaths.

He had snapped his own fingers to ensure that no one died.

Alex didn't care that she was hurt, or that she was pregnant. She ran to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kneeling down. Tony was barely alive, but he still gripped her back, holding the other Avenger close to him.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you." Alex sobbed. Her nose was running and her eyes were puffy, and she knew people were watching her, but she didn't care. Tony couldn't die, he couldn't be dead. "I tried to be better, Tony. I'm gonna be a mom, I'm engaged, I-"

Tony couldn't say much back to her, but he cut her off by hugging her. He ran a bloody hand down her white hair, staining it red. But again, she didn't care, as long as he was here.

Alex knew she had to go, even if she didn't want to. She wiped under her nose, letting go of Tony and stepping back. Peter Parker, the kid Alex had convinced to fight with them in Germany, immediately stepped forward to say goodbye to his mentor.

Alex couldn't resist a smile, even if it was a terrible moment for everyone. It was going to hurt later, but it was beautiful that they had a chance to say goodbye and make up for everything.

"I'm glad you got to say something to him," Clint told Alex when she stepped back and stood with him, watching everyone crowd around and meet with everyone they had lost. "I think he already knew you were sorry, either way."

Alex nodded. "Did you say goodbye? Did Steve, Bruce, Thor, and..."

Suddenly, Alex couldn't breathe. There was somebody Alex hadn't seen at all during that battle, and she hoped it wasn't a coincidence. "Where's Nat, Clint?"

Clint wouldn't look at Alex. He felt guilty, he felt like this was all his fault as she started to sob for a second time, and he couldn't bring himself to comfort her.

He let his own tears fall among hers, and the two of them watched as the seven original Avengers turned to five.

——————

Everything after that moment was harder for Alex. Only two weeks ago- or five years for everyone else, she had felt on top of the world. She was with her best friends, she was pregnant, and she was going to be married.

Vision was dead. Tony was dead. Natasha was dead. And Alex couldn't help but feel like she was dead too.

"I don't wanna go." Alex lay on the floor of their hotel room, dress tightly clutching against her. "Do we really have to go?"

Wanda took her clutch out of the closet and fiddled with the hem of her dress. She knew Alex hadn't been feeling well recently, both because of the pregnancy and the battle they had completed, but she had to go.

"It'll be done soon." Wanda put a hand under Alex's back, lifting her off the floor. She had been so exhausted that she hadn't even bothered laying on the bed. "Then we can go home."

Alex and Wanda had been looking into getting a home nearby. They had blueprints approved, plans in place, and all they needed was to start it. "We have the doctor's appointment in the morning, so we can go check out the sight after."

The two girls hated going to doctor's offices after everything that happened in HYDRA. All the experiments still gave them nightmares, but each time they went it got easier. This doctor's appointment was going to be one to look forward to.

Alex was fourteen weeks along. They hadn't been able to see a good doctor because of the accords, but with the blip, it was mostly blown over. T'Challa had directed them to a doctor who could tell them the gender of their baby even if she was barely in her second trimester.

They originally hadn't wanted to wait to know. But Bucky told them he would make it special and do a gender reveal, meaning he would go with them to the appointment.

"Okay. Let's do it." Alex said quietly. She straightened out her dress and grabbed Wanda's hand. The two girls called a taxi, making their way to Tony's house.

He had said he would take a page out of Clint's book, but Alex didn't think he would actually build Pepper a home.

Alex knocked on the door, waiting outside patiently. A little girl, maybe five or six, came to the door and greeted it. "Are you Alex and Wanda? Daddy told me about you."

This must have been Morgan. Alex knelt down, smiling at the little girl. "Yeah, hi, sweetie. It's so nice to meet you for the first time."

Morgan smiled and opened the door wider for them. The Avengers who were already in the room greeted the two of them with open arms and hugs. Alex gave Pepper a bouquet of flowers. "Pepper, you look lovely."

"Thank you, Alex! It's been so long, we should really see each other more." Pepper placed the flowers in a vase, offering Alex another hug. "We're about to head out back if you want to follow."

Alex nodded and took Wanda's hand in hers. The team of original Avengers, Happy Hogan, Pepper, and Morgan slowly descended down the stairs, pausing by them as Pepper laid Tony's arc reactor in the water.

It wasn't just them. Others were gathered around, all of them paying their respects to the billionaire who had saved the universe. Clint's entire family, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and even Nick Fury himself had made an appearance.

But Alex still felt empty. It was a beautiful ceremony, but she felt like Tony deserved more for what he had done. She felt like Natasha deserved more for her sacrifice for the soul stone.

It felt wrong that the whole world had gotten their family back, but she had lost two of hers.