Lost Our Minds |5| The Ascension

Chapter Twenty Two: Civil War - Consequences

Bucky frowned as he sat with McKenzie, watching the view as Steve flew the Quinjet towards snowy mountains. "What did you mean, earlier? About fighting anyone but him?"

She bit her lip. "Something like two, three hundred years ago, he got stuck in the year 200,100, fighting an army of the physical embodiment of hate. I unlocked the heart of his ship, the TARDIS, and it allowed me to destroy them all, and it changed me into what I am now—the speed and the lasers and the... the wings. But nobody was supposed to have that in their mind, and it was killing me. Actually, it did, but we didn't know that at the time. So he gave his life to save me." She sighed shakily. "When two people give their lives for each other at the same point, it creates a special bond. With the vortex involved, that bond was even stronger. It kept us together, probably what caused us to fall in love in the first place. We didn't know about it, not until now. I'm not entirely sure he knows about it even now."

"So what happened?" Steve asked.

"We gave our lives for each other, and the bond that created between us was held together by the fact that neither of us would ever try to kill each other," McKenzie told him. "When we were fighting at the airport, I was holding back. I was trying so hard not to use my lasers. I just stuck to hand-to-hand, like whenever we sparred. I was trying to persuade him, but I just made it worse. He was so angry, I could hear it in his head." She held her own head. "That last shot he fired at me was powerful. So powerful and he was too distracted to stop it. It would've stopped my hearts. I think it did, for a moment. And then, I don't know, I guess the bond protected me. It must have absorbed the power of the blow and just... shattered. It seems like every damn thing is going wrong at once."

"But Vision is easily as powerful as the Doctor," Steve pointed out. "Why wouldn't it have happened with him?"

"Because that shot came from the man I died to save, the man who died to save me. And he was shooting to kill, even if he didn't realise it himself. The bond is gone now, and... I'm not sure who I am without it. I don't know if I even feel the same way about him. What do you when the person you'd die for is trying to kill you?" She was silent for a moment, then shook her head, her hair swaying. "When the bond broke, it took what it had originally given me. Turns out wings weren't actually part of the package." She sighed, changing the subject. "I hope the guys are okay."

"What's going to happen to them?" Bucky asked.

Steve stared ahead, biting his lip. "Whatever it is... We'll deal with it."

Bucky shook his head. "I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve."

At this, Steve glanced around at him. "What you did all those years... It wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."

"I know," Bucky bit his lip. "But I did it." McKenzie squeezed his hand.

***

Tony joined Vision where he was watching Rhodey as he laid down inside a CT scanner. "How did this happen?" he demanded.

"I became distracted," Vision replied.

"I didn't think that was possible," Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

"Neither did I," Vision admitted.

Tony left him there, going through to join Natasha and the Doctor on the balcony, looking out towards a row of trees. "The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."