Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Fifty Five

Catherine was extremely grateful when her feet hit the ground back in the present. They all looked around the room and everyone has returned safely, except Natasha. She looked over to Clint who looked distraught. Something was very wrong.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asked.

Silence.

Catherine reached out to grab something. She was gone. She sank to the floor and bowed her head. She had known Natasha for almost her entire life. She was the only person who knew what it was like to be made a weapon at such a young age. If it hadn't been for Natasha, she probably wouldn't have joined SHIELD.

The team all took an hour to themselves. They needed it desperately. Catherine attempted to keep herself together, but she wasn't doing a great job. They were now gathered around Tony putting the stones into a gauntlet he made. It was incredibly nerve wracking. One wrong move and he could kill everyone.

Once the gauntlet was completed came the hard decision of who was going to wear it. The power had almost killed Thanos, so it could very well kill any of them. At the end of the debate it was Bruce that would wear it. He was the only one who had any chance of surviving it. Everyone backed away from Bruce, not wanting to be close when he snapped his fingers.

Catherine stood next to Steve who had his shield up just in case. He slipped the gauntlet on and grunted in pain. Bruce felt his knees, but somehow he managed to overcome the pain and snap his fingers. He felt to the ground and Clint kicked the gauntlet away.

"Bruce!" Steve yelled.

"Don't move him." Tony told Steve.

"Did it work?"  Bruce asked.

Everyone looked around. Everything felt and looked the same. They weren't sure what to expect when they reversed Thanos' damage. Catherine saw a shadow and looked up towards the sky. A missile. There definitely weren't expecting that. They were powerless as the missile hit the building, sending everyone everywhere. She felt her body connect with something and it all went dark. 

"Catherine." She heard Steve's voice. "Cat. You okay?"

Catherine groaned as she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding. She was pretty sure something in her body was broken. She looked around and didn't recognize her surroundings. The compound had been destroyed. The ground had been turned up. There was nothing. Steve helped her stand up.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. Something went wrong clearly." Steve told her.

They both looked around to find Tony and Thor standing, looking at something. Thanos. Every inch of her body tensed. Rage filled her. There was the man who took everything from her. She wanted to fight him, no kill him.

"What's he been doing?" Tony asked Thor who had been watching Thanos.

"Absolutely nothing." Thor answered.

"Where are the stones?" Catherine asked.

"Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn't have them." Tony answers.

"So we keep it that way." Steve told the group.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor pointed out.

"Yeah. And I don't much care." Tony said with an almost snarl.

"Good. Just as long we are all in agreement. Let's kill him properly this time." Thor said and reached out his hands to summon his weapons.

The four of them looked at each other, before walking towards him cautiously. She felt powerless. She didn't have a weapon. She didn't have super powers or a fancy suit. She could fight like hell, but that was it.

"You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me that's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist." Thanos explained.

"Yep. We're all kinds of stubborn." Tony said not caring about his speech.

"I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then– With the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe." Thanos continued.

"Have you always talked this much? You might want to shorten your speeches just a little." Catherine pointed out.

Thanos smirked at her.

"Born out of blood." Steve said.

"They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them." Thanos said.

The four of them started fighting. Catherine felt weak compared to the three of them, but she didn't care. She was going to make Thanos pay. Steve and her worked together fighting him. She watched as Thor used his weapons to create energy that Tony was absorbing. Thanos grabbed Tony and used him as a shield. She could tell it had damaged Tony's suit severely.

She whipped her head around to look at Thanos. She was full of rage as she ran at him. Thanos wrapped his arm around her throat and squeezed, almost breaking her. She stared at him straight in the eye. He could see the fear, the hatred in her eyes. He smirked at her and threw her useless body. Catherine cried out as she landed. She fought hard to keep herself awake. She knew she had some sort of concussion.

Everything was spinning. She watched, powerless as Thor was thrown back. Steve was the only one left, but he was growing weak. Thanos stabbed him in the leg and Catherine yelled out his name. Thanos destroyed his shield as if it was made of cotton and then threw him. She rested her head against the ground and closed her eyes. They had lost. Again. They were no use against him. Her thoughts went to William. Her poor son. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay.

All around her, Thanos' army was forming. She didn't know if she should just let them kill her or fight. She decided she didn't want to go down without a fight. She stood up, legs shaky and caught Steve's eyes. He looked awful. She assumed she looked awful as well. He was exhausted. Blood covered his face. Then there was static on her com.

"Hey, Cap, you read me?" Sam Wilson's voice said.

Catherine looked at Steve confused. Where was it coming from? Was this one of Thanos' tricks.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" Sam asked.

A flash of yellow appeared behind Steve. A circle was starting to form. What was going on?

"On your left." Sam says.

Catherine watched as the circles got bigger and Okoye, Shuri, and T'Challa emerged. Sam came flying out next. She was sure she was imagining things.

"Please tell me you're seeing this Steve?" Catherine asked.

"I-I am." He said.

More and more circles were forming and more and more familiar faces were emerging. And then she sees him. He looked the exact same as when he left.

Bucky.