Time Unchanging

Chapter 119

The flight to the coordinates was tension-filled. Bucky, Loki, and Eva all sat together, looking at each other. Sam was off to the side with Steve and Thor as Clint flew the jet.

"This is weird, right?" Sam asked the other two in a hushed tone.

"I believe they have gained true telepathy with each other due to Loki's powers," Thor said. "It is not unheard of when such a bond is created."

"Before, it was small things," Steve replied. "Like knowing when the others were plotting something, or if the others are upset. But this looks like a full-on conversation."

"Because it is. If they had been mortals, their telepathy would be as humans describe it for the most part. They might be able to send some information, and there could be feelings associated with the others' pain or emotions, but full conversations, not so much."

Sam groaned, "Whatever, man. As long as they don't recreate the Shining and keep that creepy shit away from me, let them do whatever."

"What 'creepy shit,' Samual?" the triplets asked, turning to look at them in unison.

Sam moved back behind Thor a bit before Bucky, Loki, and Eva burst into laughter. Their partners joined in when they realized the joke. Thor came up to Loki, sat next to him, and pulled him into the golden god's lap.

"What were you talking about?" Thor asked.

"How to break the tension," Loki admitted. "We can't train in here, so we thought we'd listen in to what you three were saying. That's when Sam gave us the idea. It wasn't hard to time it."

"You scared the shit out of me, sha," Sam said, straddling Bucky.

"Sorry, doll," Bucky replied, his hands on Sam's ass. "But it was worth it."

Eva went up to Steve. She smiled up at him before they kissed each other. Both of them were happy that the tension was broken, but they also had similar feelings. Their enemy was plotting something.

"We're still a few miles out," Clint announced, all business. "Give her a punch from me."

That brought the tension back. Everyone understood why he was so serious. It was his kids' lives on the line. Plus, it was his former best friend that took them. He and Laura struggled to find reasons to smile and laugh.

Eva turned back to Bucky and asked, "Bubba, are you sure about being here?"

Bucky sighed and Sam moved off of his lap, opting to hold his hand instead. Though Bucky couldn't feel it, he knew his partner held his metal hand, showing he not only accepted it but loved it. Sam had been the one to get him to not see the fake appendage as a reminder of his past evil but as a badge of honor for enduring for so long and still being true to himself in the end.

"Eva," Bucky said, giving a butterfly-level squeeze to Sam's hand, "for the last time, I'm fine."

She gave a nod. It had been her last-ditch effort to get him to back out. She knew he wouldn't. Bucky was too stubborn for that, but she had to offer.

"We're here," Clint announced, not looking at them. "Good luck, guys."

They all got ready to exit the jet. They each looked at their respective partners, love shining in their eyes. Even though the couples were paired together, any number of things could happen and cause them to get separated.

"Stay safe, ᛚᛟᚢᛖ- love," Thor said. "I need you to come back to me."

Loki hugged Thor as he responded, "I promise, ᛈᛖᛏ- pet, so long as you do the same."

Sam began to mess with Redwing as he said, "Kick ass, sha."

"You too, doll," Bucky replied, watching as the jet opened up to the cold of Siberia.

"Stevie," Eva licked her lips, worry playing in her tone as she spoke, "I... I need you to... it's just-"

He cut her off with another kiss, this one much more passionate, before saying, "I know, sweetheart. I love you too."

Scott, who seemed to have stayed hidden for most of the flight, came up next to everyone and said, "You guys are so cute!"

The seven of them exited the jet. Each step made the pit in Eva's stomach grow. Something was very wrong here.

They stood before some metal doors that had seen better days, hidden within a rock face. The yawning opening looked ready to swallow them. Eva wanted to say something, but it was too late to back out now.

"Some things never change," Bucky said in a grim tone.

Steve gripped his shield as he ordered, "Stay alert. We don't know what or who is waiting for us."

With that, they all walked into the building.