One-Shots | Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers (and actors)

Untitled Endgame AU 3

Chapter 3 | Dawn

"Concentrate Dawn. Concentrate on the power." Natasha says. I try, really try, but it seems like nothing is working.

"I'm trying!" My voice cracks with frustration. "No matter what I do, it won't work."

She looks me, eyes saddened. "Don't fight it."

Don't fight it? "What do you mean?"

"You are so used to fighting the power it has become second nature to you. Stop. Let go of the barriers." She explains.

"What if I hurt someone." I ask.

"One can only hope." Nat mumbles, I hear her. "Don't worry about it."

I nod. Slowly trying to unravel the intricate safeguards I put in place to keep myself and everyone else safe. As I mentally dismantle them, unsure exactly how I do it, I feel the low thrum of it come back. Stronger than before, and far more enticing. Taking a deep breath, I allow the walls to crumble; allow myself to fully feel the power for the first time.

"Dawn?" Nat asks, her voice tentative. Something I haven't ever heard from her.

"Yeah?"

"You're glowing." I freeze. Glowing? What the hell?

With the upmost control, I don't flinch, no matter how bad I wanted to. I can't, not with the danger I could be. I try to ignore the comment; focus on the task of letting go of reservations, fears, things holding me back. With another deep breath, I concentrate on my hands. I know that my hands play a large part in control. Opening my eyes, I notice the glow around me. It is dark, greyish in color, menacing. Slowly, I begin to push the energy, dull now, through my hands. Tendrils of magic like power, almost looking like electric pulses, shoot out, charring the ground.

I lift myself up, floating in the air around me. Unsteady as I might be, I am staying airborne. I'm not falling. I pull back on the power, wanting to land safely. It works. Somewhat. I land in a moaning heap on the ground. "I did something."

"Yeah. You did." Nat says, now hovering over my prone state. She is smiling. For the first time since meeting her, I smile back.

"Alright kid. Another round." Lending a hand, she pulls me up.

<><><>

Over the course of two days, long days, but still only two, I learned how to control it better than I ever thought I could. The basics are really all I know, but it is one hundred percent more than I knew before. I watch from the side-lines as everyone else readies themselves for what they are calling their Time Heist. A fitting name I suppose.

"You know what to do kid?" Steve asks, gearing up.

"Sit here and wait for you to get back within seconds. Yeah I got it." I mumble, a little offended at the nickname. Although, I am technically the youngest here.

"Right. Remember the plan." He says one last time. I nod. I snap everyone back.

"Yes." I reply, not offering anything further. He nods, retreating to the platform with everyone else.

In a flash, they are gone. Seconds pass as I watch it, waiting. It doesn't take long before everyone is back. Although something seems different. I don't hear much, too preoccupied by trying to figure out what is missing. Natasha. I don't have the chance to voice my concern before someone else does. To my amazement and utter horror, Dr. Banner loses most of his green color.

There isn't time to grieve, not yet. Not when the stones are calling to my blood, asking to be used. In a daze I listen to the instructions regarding snapping everyone back. I nod, slowly placing the gauntlet on my hand. I feel it burn, feel it turn every nerve in that arm to fire. Yet, I also feel something akin to coming home. Like whatever it was in me, found its home, it's original being. It doesn't leave though, only bonds with the power thrumming through the metal contraption on my hand. Making the dull hum loud in my ears.

I focus on the task. Bring everyone back. Bring everything Thanos snapped away back. Bring Natasha back. I snap. The small sound of it deafening in the enclosed space. Falling to the ground, I feel the gauntlet being pulled off, my arm already stitching itself back together. "Did it work?" I ask. No one replies. A phone rings. Scott calls from another room. Then everything goes to hell.

The building explodes. Everything collapses. Something is burning. Something is wet. Someone, or multiple people are screaming. And everything is dark. Too dark. Only moments ago, the sun was shining, the birds chirping, Clint was on the phone with his wife. Everything and everyone were smiling. Happy. I don't hear anything but the ringing in my ears. Don't feel anything but the dull ache in my veins. The power screaming.

I'm mad now. Pissed. Someone just threw a building at us; tried to kill us for undoing the hell that happened because of the first snap. My blood boils. The power rises. A black cloud of energy, pulsing with rage encircles me. Lifting the rubble, lifting the debris from around me.

I know my eyes have gone completely black, have begun to glow. I can feel it, somehow. Taking a deep breath, the air burning my lungs, I push. Everything falls away. Flies in every direction, disintegrating in thin air. I don't bother looking at anything but the rubble, my only focus is on getting everyone out. With unpracticed hands, I let loose the pure cosmic energy coursing through my veins. It turns to dust. Slowly, everyone rises from the ashes of my own making. Hurt, but not dead. Everything living, continues to stay that way, unharmed by the power shooting from my hands.

I feel it fade. The raw power. My body unused to the exertion and feeling of it for so long. The glow around me lessens, the protective sphere flickers. And I fall, knees giving out. Mind reeling from the actions I didn't know I could do. Half aware of the words being said over the coms, I try to stand. I can't, not yet. The world blurs, and everything seems to weak to pull on for strength. Yet, I know I must.

Before my eyes, I watch as Steve stands, shield broken, blood everywhere, against Thanos and his army. Pulling myself up, with every once of strength I can muster, I stand as well. Then I hear it; an unfamiliar voice over the coms. I smile as sparks begin to flicker in the space behind Steve, behind me. The same voice, full of something sounding like dark humor, says something that makes even the Captain turn away from the impending enemy.

"On your left."

This is the third part of my Endgame AU (if I add more parts than I have posted on my Tumblr, I will create a seperate story). Enedited.

~ Sam(antha)