𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴

there was a lot to be said about stephen strange - but him being akin to harry potter was not one of those things. he absolutely dreaded having to deal with anything about the ridiculous children’s books - so when he woke up and found he’d been ‘gifted’ a wand and that none of his magic worked unless he evoked a stupid spell.... he was less than pleased.

“suddenly... i have lost all ability to cast or conjure magic. it’s a shame really, i suppose i’ll have to default back to my medical knowledge.“ he boasted towards anyone who would listen. it certainly was interesting seeing everyone change in some form... plus the reddish sky. if he hadn’t considered the infinity stones before, he definitely considered them now.

rhodey’s not sure he’s going to really adjust to seeing all of these people again. specifically, all of these people they’d lost. he’s a soldier - it’s not that he’s a stranger to loss and death. but losing the people closest to you, people who have seen you go through the ups and downs, highs and lows, it’s something else, losing natasha, losing tony.. you lose a piece of yourself.

but here she is. back, breathing very much alive like so many others. “c’mon - you don’t get to look surprised. that’s my job right now.” he says with a smile, stepping in to hug the woman without hesitation. the smile doesn’t last long, though, when she pulls away, her statement more than a little ominous. “i know, but we are. no point in freaking out about the fact that we shouldn’t be here. just gotta find out way back home.” it doesn’t surprise him that tony’s around - rhodey’s been trying to find him, trying to track him down but it’s not exactly easy to do here. “you know where I can find him?”

natasha raised her brow at his remark before letting out a softened laugh. “and here i thought that i’d get a pass being dead and all.” when they released from the hug, she glanced away from him - pulling her hands up and wrapping them around her torso. “i’m not freaking out - we both know that i don’t freak out. but i am concerned. rhodey you’re in the soul stone - it really shouldn’t be possible.” she frowned.

when she finally looked back to him after admitting that tony was around - and just as alive as he could be - she was admittedly surprised he didn’t seem so... surprised. maybe he’d been hoping for this alternative ending all along? she knew rhodey to be an optimist after all. “yeah, he’s pretending everything is fine while drinking air out of a martini glass he’d made with his tech. so you know, he’s not great.” she nodded her head in the direction she’d last seen him. “i think he could really use seeing you and you being his voice of reason - there’s only so long i could try to talk to him.”

the movements of a black widow were distinct – unnoticeable to nearly all others, but she didn’t doubt for a moment that it was natasha approaching her. yet, the unease this place tried to seep in her  that told her to be cautious, on guard, even from a sister in arms. she turned sharply, concealing herself in the flora as she inspected the other russian. the words she spoke though jarred yelena out of whatever uncertainty had gripped her.

“excuse me? what do you mean ‘so am i’?” she questioned suddenly, revealing herself behind natasha, a mix of disbelief and near annoyance in her voice. “i can explain why i’m not dead – or wasn’t – not so sure now if this is some sort of hell.” yelena mused only briefly before turning her attention sharply back to the other matter at hand. “are you telling me you died, natalia? why would you do that?” if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that natasha couldn’t have died unless she let it happen.

“oh, you heard that? good.“ natasha responded just as sharply as she turned to immediately face the younger widow. “it’s not hell.” she corrected, stiffening her posture and keeping a keen eye on yelena’s every move.  “and i would like an explanation.” but any more words from her were cut off by her sister’s questions. she couldn’t mistake the concern that lied deeply beneath the surface.

clearing her throat, the former assassin turned her head away and gave her shoulder to the blonde. “to save... i did it so that others could live.” she wanted to admit that she did it to save someone she considered as family. yelena would have understood that - but she couldn’t bring herself to saying it. turning back, she shrugged and dismissed it. “it was a simple calculation - my life for many, i made a sacrificial play and i took it.”

wanda could feel this place as if it were breathing, thinking – and yet it felt empty. like nothingness. like a galaxy without a universe. and she could feel the people within it – ones she knew and ones she didn’t. and she could feel her father before he spoke. the manner of his approach was just like him – the essence of showmanship and arrogance that he passed down to all of his children.

“pietro is dead, daddy.” she’d practiced saying it after the fact – as if she could make herself used to it. she supposed it worked in some way. she could say it now without falling apart, because they just felt like words without meaning. pietro is dead. “i couldn’t bring him back, and i tried everything short of dismantling reality.” it would have been a selfish thing, but one she was willing to do for her brother. she hesitated, looking sideways at her father and catching his eye. “and i even considered that.” wanda had never told that to anybody. who could she tell? who could understand her impulse to tear apart the universe to bring her brother back? he could. her father could. 

despite the hate she may have felt for her father at given points of their past, she was a daughter of the house of magnus. 

when he reached his hand towards her, wanda surprised herself by leaning into his touch. with his hand on her cheek he truly felt like a man who might’ve been a father – she could almost imagine him caring for them after the death of their parents. he was different then, and he was different now ( that’s what she told herself, at least ). you look exhausted. “i’m tired,” she said quietly, closing her eyes. “this place… it feels like my failure.”

pietro is dead.

he’d heard of the news that his sole son had passed, but to hear it from his daughter; the twin of the one that was lost was an entirely different and darker feeling. a part of him wanted to crumble under the distress of losing a child, to allow his emotions to erupt and consume him - but that would entail a far more disastrous effect than anyone really needed.

instead, he forced himself into a calm state of mind; for the sake of his children and for those that had no reason to feel his wrath. so when wanda spoke candidly to him about her abilities, her strengths that lent into her weaknesses he couldn’t help but to feel the weight of partial responsibility for her actions. after all, she was his blood, she had his fury, his danger. it was a gift and a curse he had passed along to all his children, though wanda was cursed with being of his exact mindset.

he was lucky, in a sense, that lorna had a better control of herself - and that pietro had always seemed to defy anything that made him like his father. “no, it would have been unwise to destroy reality - but i wouldn’t have stopped you.” he finally spoke, giving his judgment but allowing her to know that he would have stood beside her and not against her. 

when she leaned into his touch, he moved forward, allowing a small brief moment of normality within the relationship between a father and child as he gently put his arms around her to pull her into a hugging embrace. “rest now, wanda. i will not let anyone come for you.” he meant it. the things he’d discovered about the war with thanos had shaken him to his core, the destruction and terror that had been inflicted upon his eldest daughter would happen no more on his watch. “your sister is here. lorna. i would venture to guess you would like to meet her?”

stephen strange was positively radiating conflicting signals right now. “god, no wonder they said you were awful with handling people, even as a doctor,” tony said. “yeah, i googled you, before you start wondering.”

he’d done a helluva lot more than that - the number of conversations he’d had about one wizard-sorcerer-fortune teller had been insane, since he’d driven himself crazy trying to figure out what ‘there was no other way’ meant. 

“calm down, dr frankenstein. i am back, so you’re cool on that front. now, if you could just magic us up a beach front property and a nice margarita, i’d be set for after-life.”

he glanced around at stephen. “seriously, though. no hard feelings. i’m just bummed that all of you seem to be here, because if there’s one thing i really would hate, is having fried myself to a crisp for nothing. so since wong’s not here, you’re the next best authority on the infinity stones. what gives, how are we here? how do we get everyone home?”

stephen squinted at his words, scoffing as he did so and raised a hand to defend himself. “i have never professed to be good around people - it’s on you and anyone else who projected that upon me.” he retaliated despite knowing he shouldn’t be putting this misplaced aggression onto tony.

sighing, he dropped his hand as he let his shoulders slump - a feeling of direct defeat coming over him knowing entirely well that tony was correct. “sorry,” he muttered, hating that he apologized but deciding it was best to face up to his own asshole-ry.

but it was in tony’s final statement of words that caused the sorcerer to snap his attention to him, his eyes boring into the other with acute and direct persistence and determination. “what do you mean the infinity stones? are we within one? of course, i should have known that. i am so STUPID.” he started to rant, pacing to and from as he went, muttering about theories and who could have done it.

“tell me, tony - what all do you know? i need to know everything.“ he stated bluntly, stopping mid-pace to address the fallen avenger.

reed shrugged at the man as he gave him a cordial smile. “i’d like to think so.” erik lehnsherr was definitely a character just like he heard, but he could also see why charles was friends with the mutant. if he were a psychologist, reed would say erik and charles were somewhat kindred spirits—although he’s pretty sure that wouldn’t go well with either mutant. “that’s what i’m still trying to figure out. i was in my lab one moment then i found myself here next. looks like the stones aren’t in the least bit done with us just yet.”

erik hummed - not quite giving much in the conversation department and knowing full-well that reed would accept it. if he wanted someone to speak with him over philosophy and humanity, then he would perhaps shove charles in his direction. they were, of course, friends. “the stones, yes - ” erik sighed in irritation, turning to face the other man. “i was on genosha, rebuilding what had been destroyed and left to ruin. thanos is dead though, yes? then who is in charge of this monstrosity of replacing us here?”

“rhodey?“ natasha asked as she happened to look up to see him standing there. she was certainly surprised to see him - and she was positive he would be surprised to see her but she couldn’t help the small lilt of surprise and happiness that escaped her lips. the last time they’d seen each other was on vormir and she’d hugged him. one of the last few people she felt comfortable around.

approaching him, she pulled him into a hug before stepping back and giving him a look over. “god, it’s good to see you but... you shouldn’t be here. none of you should.” she admitted, frowning and stepping back onto her heel. “you should know... tony’s here too.” she wouldn’t be surprised if he cut and run to find his best friend, after all if she was in the same position she would do the same.

“my daughter,“ erik called out, having decided that if he could float; he would. his shoes were far too expensive to be trekking through the muck of this so-called water. he approached, floating down towards her and landing gracefully onto a pile of rubble, smiling a bit as he did so - though soon the smile had dropped.

“i’ve seen your sister, but your brother is nowhere to be found. which... shame,“ he commented lightly, making it no secret that pietro was a factor in erik’s life that merely came and went as the tides changed. “fairing well, my child? you look exhausted.“ he reached out towards her, his fingers reaching to touch her cheek in care. he tried to be a better father to his children, but the past had made it difficult; had made it unsteady.

open starter

Steve woke up with a burning in his lungs and a pounding in his head. Which wasn’t necessarily an unfamiliar sensation, but it was certainly happening in an unfamiliar place. He got to his feet, and tried to take in his surroundings, looking for assets and resources. Shelter. He would need shelter, and water, and probably food at some point. His shield lay at the ground at his feet, and could hardly help with any of those.

Darkness was the last thing he remembered. Darkness that felt like a weight, like everlasting night, like failure. But it wasn’t dark here. Here everything was golden-orange, a perfect warm twilight. Steve kicked at the ground that seemed to be ever-shifting beneath his feet, as much liquid as it was solid. 

He couldn’t see anyone or anything, no matter which way he looked. He was alone. His chest seized with panic. He had no memories of being trapped in the ice, but sometimes he almost thought he did. He thought he could remember being frozen, an eternal wasteland, a world of silence and nothingness and no one, no one. He would wake up drenched in sweat, as if he had indeed been in the ocean, on the nights that particular haunting visited him.

He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. It hadn’t happened again. It couldn’t. Not even their broken world could be so cruel. “Okay. Everything’s fine.” The sound of his own voice, any voice, began to steady him. “We just need a plan.” He turned in a slow circle again, and his heart thumped painfully at the sight of a person-shaped blob on the horizon. He picked up his shield and began to run.

“Excuse me,” he called out as he got closer. “I’m looking for a plan.”

thor immediately swung around at the familiar voice and let out a loud cheering yell. steve rogers was here, which meant that the original three were together once more. “steve!” he called out, trotting towards him, his axe by his side as he did so - dropping it momentarily to pull the other avenger into a tightened hug. “it is good to see you, again.”

thor had wondered if steve would ever return from the world he had went to. and seeing him here it was a delight. still, a part of him, a deepened part felt sadness and a lonesome line of longing that his friend had wanted for so long. pulling away, thor picked his axe back up and stood in thought. “a plan?” he asked, raising a brow as he used his free hand to stroke his beard. 

“worthy thought, but i do not believe any of us have one as of yet.“ he glanced around and gestured towards the emptiness that surrounded them. “have you met stark yet? natasha? they’re alive and well, they’ve just been hiding out in here and waiting for us to find them.“ at least that was what thor had convinced himself of - they weren’t dead. his friends, his family could not be dead. he could not be dead. “what about you? are you well?“

bucky recognized her immediately. even from behind she was unmistakable – the way she stood, the slight tilt of her head. he’d been trained to notice details, but training wouldn’t have been necessary for him to notice her. natalia romanova was unlike anyone he’d ever met – with such a capacity for both brutality and love. how both things could coexist in one person was unimaginable to him when they met, but she was quick to broaden his imagination.

barnes. it was cold. meaningless. there was a time where she said his name – james – and he could hear the tenderness in it. tenderness was a rare thing where they came from, so when you got it, even for a moment, you held onto it. and that’s what they did with each other. for him, she harbored his only moments of clarity and kindness at a time where his life was defined by death and torture. he wondered if she remembered any soft moments in her past without him in them. he hoped she did. she deserved that much.

“natalia.” that was what he always called her, but not what she went by anymore. it was a habit he would have to break for her sake. there was no reason to rattle any memories that might be somewhere in her mind. “i wanted to talk to you.” what could he say? what excuse did he have for lingering behind her the way he was? moreover, what excuse would she believe? “i never apologized,” he said finally, “for the times i tried to kill you. i may have been the winter soldier when i did it, but i was still in here.” he touched his temple and smiled without joy. “for what it’s worth, i’m glad i failed.”

her attention quickly snapped to hyper-focus on him. the use of a name that had long since been dead to her ears was more than enough for her to snap back to the reality of the situation. she wanted to question him, ask why he called her that. why natalia and why she had no intentions of wanting to take him down for it. she remained still, eerily so.

i wanted to talk to you. that intrigued her, she hadn’t expected them to have anything between them to really speak about. steve was their main common factor. a muddied and darkened past being another. but it was expected that neither of them would wish to speak about the latter. he wasn’t russian, not by blood, but a lot of his demeanor gave her the calming forcefulness of her motherland. she... didn’t hate it. she didn’t hate him.

when he continued on, she cracked a bit, a small huff of inhaled laughter escaped from her nose as a minuscule smile attached itself to her lips. “if we’re going to apologize for that, then i’m sorry for trying to take you down.” she paused and reached over, placing a hand onto his shoulder, her thumb running over the fabric of his shirt. a familiar feeling, a natural movement. something she hadn’t expected herself to do and yet found herself  doing it - and not letting go. “except i would say i’m glad i didn’t fail. mostly.” she gently let go of him, hesitantly bringing her hand back to her side. “you’re a worthy sparring partner. wouldn’t mind going again. this time for fun though.”