In Little Ways

Chapter 17

Chaos rained down on the troops as they finally broke through the invisible walls that protected the Wakandan border.

Loki looked on, impatiently as the fighting continued, watching the fall of man and monster alike. He could feel the power that surged through the grounds as the witch landed, streaks of crimson red shooting into the creators that tried to face her.

But his interest was not in the fighting. It was in the surge of power in the forest beyond. And in the monster he knew would be there.

****

"Lia? Mr. Stark has sustained some injuries. Stephen is transporting them all here." FRIDAY informed her, calming  her nerves slightly as she paced.

"How bad are we talking? Like, major?" She asked and the AI was silent before she spoke up, her tone changing to show slight concern.

"Thanos stabbed him through the abdomin. Stephen saved him by giving Thanos the Time Stone, but..." Lia took a deep breath to calm her nerves, her heart aching as the AI stopped talking.

It was silent for a moment longer before a portal opened, a large group of random people stumbling through.

"Tony! Are you okay?" Lia cried, helping Peter pull his father through before Stephen stepped through, finally closing the portal. His wound had been covered in webs, stopping the bleeding as well as could be around the lost suit. Tony chuckled weakly, nodding before he cringed.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Don't worry. Thanos will be here soon...but no need to worry." He said and she looked up from the injury in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked and Tony opened his mouth to respond before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You are frightened. Don't worry. Thanos will not be able to complete his task." Lia turned and looked at the woman, thrown off by the antenna and her strangely colored skin.

"What do you mean? He almost has them all." She said and the man stepped forward. She could tell he was human as well as the leader of the ragtag team.

"He wasn't able to get the soul stone. The only way to get it is to sacrifice the one person you love the most...and turns out, the one thing he loves the most is himself, so he didn't even try to get it." He sighed then, causing the antennaed woman to bounce up to him, placing a calming hand on his shoulder.

"That means she is not dead. I saw it. I felt his anger." The girl chimed in, smiling at the man before Lia chuckled nervously.

"Even though I am releaved that whomever you are talking about is alive, I do believe there are some more pressing matters at the moment, including Tony." She motioned to the prone man, bringing the people back to the current situation. 

"Do not worry, small woman. The small man will survive." Lia looked up at the giant of a man and smiled awkwardly before helping Stephen get situated with a med kit. Tony looked up at his husband then, his face slightly pale and a cocky grin firmly placed there.

"Hey there, hot stuff. Are you seeing anyone right now?" His words were slurred as he spoke, causing everyone to cringe, not only in awkwardness, but in fear for the injured man.

"Yes." Stephen mumbled, pulling on a pair of gloves before injecting him with a small needle of morphine. Tony hiccupped on a sob, causing Stephen to look up at him quickly.

"Baby? Are you okay?" He asked, touching Tony's face softly as he cried softly.

"You say you are in a relationship, but you are the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on! I want-" He then passed out, making everyone release a sigh of relief as Stephen was finally able to heal his husband.

"Alright, please give me space. Tony is going to be okay." Stephen mumbled, setting to work as they all left the room, Peter and Harley quickly branching off to check on the twins.

***

Lia groaned softly as a wave of particularly strong cramps ran through her, causing her to lean over slightly, a hand pressed to her stomach. After a moment of slow breathing, she was able to stand up straight once more, her eyes focusing on the strange group once more as they all walked about the loft. 

"Um...excuse me? Who are all of you?" Lia asked, looking towards the only human looking person in the room, whom was looking out the window at the New York streets. He turned then, a wide smile on his face, before he walked to her, his hand extended.

"My name is Peter Quill. Also known as Star Lord." He winked then, making Lia chuckle as the giant grey man stepped forward, punching him swiftly in the arm.

"Quill! She is obviously with child! She will not fall pray to your pelvic sorcery when her heart belongs to another." The man pushed him out of the way then, ignoring his mumbled excuses as he smiled down at Lia. 

Lia could see that he was unsure how to go about talking to her about her child and she tried to push away the pain that flared in her heart as she remembered where her heart was before she introduced herself.

"And this little one," She patted her stomach softly, smiling down at the bulge happily, "is Tobias." 

The man smiled then, his hand twitching slightly, as if he wanted to touch her stomach, but seemed completely out of his comfort zone. There is a moment where Lia is frightened for her child, but as soon as she truly saw the uncertainty and sadness in the man's eyes, she allowed him to.

"This reminds me of my wife when she was with child. She was beautiful. They both were." He looked off into the distance then, his eyes shining with tears as he remembered another time before he shook his head, pulling his hand back to himself.

"I am Drax the Destroyer and this is my friend Mantis." The smaller woman he motioned towards waved excitedly and jumped forward, placing her hand on Lia's stomach so suddenly that Lia squeaked in surprise. A spike of fear ran through her before she a suddenly wave of calm washed over her. 

"Your child is going to be very powerful, just like his father. And he will come to you sooner than you thought." The woman said, her voice soft and comforting, even though the words confused her.

"What are you-" A loud boom broke off her train of thought, shaking the tower slightly as Drax held Lia up, making sure she didn't lose her footing. 

"Auntie Lia? Is everyone okay?" Peter called, running into the room, with the girls and Harley in toe. The twins ran to her, wrapping her in a hug as she nodded.

"Yes, everyone is good in here. Your fathers?" She asked, looking towards the lab doors, which swung open, revealing Stephen and Tony, whom looked like he was feeling much better than when he first arrived as he leaned into his husband slightly. 

"Now I am so ready to whoop some ass." Tony said, a frown on his face as he slowly moved into the room. "Now let's figure out what we need to do." 

Lia walked to him, helping him towards a place to sit before the plan was set. 

***

It took only ten minutes to make the plan, find the location of where Thanos landed, and to get everyone out there to the fight. Everyone except Lia, the twins, and Harley. 

"Alright girls! Lets go and play in your rooms, how does that sound?" Harley asked, making Lia breathe a sigh of relief as they skip happily to their room. 

Another wave of Braxton Hicks steam-rolled through Lia then, making her gasp in pain before her eyes widened in surprise. 

"Harley?" She called, groaning softly as she leaned on the end of the couch, trying to calm her breathing.

"Yes?"

"I think...my water just broke."

<3 Sorry for the wait! Life is getting crazy. Thank you for waiting and for reading! <3