The Prince And The Rose

16 - This is My Choice

The world was falling apart. Steve had never seen so much destruction before, had never been so afraid that they were going to lose.

Vision was dead. Wanda was dead. Sam and Clint, too. For all he knew, Tony's injuries had killed him by now. As for Scott, Hope, and Rhodey, he had no idea where they were.

"Steve, we have to retreat!" Bucky yelled to him. His friend's face was streaked with blood, his metal arm spitting sparks.

Steve knew he was right, but he hated to back down and run. But he also knew there was no stopping Thanos; not now, not like this. So he reluctantly yelled into his comms for everyone to draw back and get away. Forget trying to regroup, it was all they could do to distance themselves from the Chitauri hordes swarming the planet.

Any retreat could only be temporary; with the power of the Infinity Stones, Thanos could always find them. It was only a matter of delaying him over and over and over again until somehow they could think of a way to stop him.

If there even was a way.

Steve was forced to consider the possibility that they couldn't win this fight. That there might be literally nothing they could do. Despair washed over him like a wave and he gritted his teeth against the weight of it.

"Thor, are you okay?" he said, grabbing the demigod's arm.

"Been better, Captain," Thor said with a grimace. There was a wide gash on his right leg. "Where are we going?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't know. Just away."

The prince of Asgard nodded, understanding turning his electric blue eyes somber. He kept moving, looking around. Bucky caught up to them, trying to wipe the blood off his face. He had several long claw marks down his forehead and cheek; a Chitauri had swiped him and then promptly been killed.

"Where is everyone?" he said, partly to Steve, partly to whoever was listening on comms.

"I'm close," T'Challa said shortly, out of breath.

"I can see you guys," Peter said, much to Steve's relief. Parker was still only a kid, too young for all this.

"Strange?" he asked.

No response. Steve hoped that didn't indicate that the sorcerer was dead. They needed him, especially now that Wanda was gone.

"Hey Cap."

Steve had gotten used to either Scott or Hope showing up without warning, so Antman's sudden greeting from his shoulder didn't startle him too much.

"You seen Hope?" Scott asked.

Steve shook his head. "Not yet."

"Damn it."

"Has anyone seen Dr. Banner?" Thor said. "It's unusual for him to be this inconspicuous for this long."

Nobody had.

Thor took off, flying low to the ground, to find them somewhere secure to take cover and rest for a little while. Bucky clapped Steve on the shoulder encouragingly. "We can do this, punk."

"Yeah," he agreed half-heartedly. He hurt all over. His shield had been utterly destroyed not long ago; the vibranium had shattered like glass under a blow from Thanos' infinity gauntlet.

Thor came back to join them a few moments later. "I found a place," he said. They adjusted their course to follow him, and he led them to a heap of rubble, underneath which was what had once been the lowest floor of a parking garage.

They made their way underneath the heaps of cement and steel and concrete, collapsing in exhaustion.

Steve leaned against one of the support columns with a groan, tugging off his gauntlets and helmet. Peter went around the group using his webbing to patch up injuries, a temporary fix but better than one would expect from spider webs. His young eyes were dark with pain and misery. Steve buried his face in his hands and fought against the tears that threatened to choke him. They couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. The wars never ended, never stopped, and this one? This one wasn't one they could win. This was going to continue forever until they were all dead and he found it so hard, so hard to care.