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Chapter 5

STEVE's POV

Once we figured out that Stark's time machine worked, it was time to think of a plan.

"Okay so we have the how  it works. Now we need the when and the where. Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six infinity stones." I told the team.

"Or substitute the word 'encounter' and replace it with 'damn near been killed by' one of the infinity stones." Tony added.

"Well, I haven't. But I don't even know the hell you're all talking about. Wh-Who's been almost killed by one?" Scott asked. Some of the team raised their hands, leaving Scott clearly impressed.

"Regardless, we only have enough Pym particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history-" Bruce started.

"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in." Tony added.

"Which means we have to pick our targets." Clint said.

"Correct." said Tony.

"So, let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?" I asked. Everyone looked to the corner of the room where Thor was sitting with his sunglasses on.

"Is he asleep?" Natasha asked, after a moment of quiet from Thor.

"No no, pretty sure he's dead." Rhodey added. Finally when Thor woke up, he explained the stones in a very...sporadic way. After he was done, which took much longer than expected, Rocket went, and then Nebula.
"Thanos found the soul stone on Vormir." She stated.

"What is Vormir?" Natasha asked, taking notes.

"Deminiane of death....and the very center of celestial existence..its where....Thanos murdered my sister.."She added, making everyone take a deep breath. After about 3 hours, we finally nailed down where all of the stones were. 3 in New York, one in Asgard, Oneon Morag, and one on Vormir.

"Alright. We have a plan. 6 stones, 3 teams, one shot." I told them all. Everyone then left to put on their quantum suits.
"Hey, Steve." Nat said, walking up to me.

"Y/N has almost been killed too." Natasha said.

"What?" I asked.

"By the stones...like what Tony said earlier."

"Nat-"

"No I'm serious. I did some research and that fire that started while she was at hydra where she almost became a super soldier, that was the mind stone. Like how Strucker used the mind stone to give powers to Wanda and Pietro. That's why Wanda gravitated towards Y/N. Their powers are similar. While Wanda and Pietro were kept away on the 2nd floor of Strucker's lab, Y/N was on the 4th. Y/N got out in time before the fire consumed her but it got into her veins through her arms. She didn't know she had powers because no one told her she did." Natasha told me.

"So it would be valuable if she were here, wouldn't it?" I asked, plainly.

"Yeah." She sighed. I pinched the bridge of my nose and then sighed.

"Well, unless she comes back, there's...not much we can do.." I told her.

Y/N's POV

I looked down at Stark's car as they all drove away. I walked back inside and shut the door to the balcony. Bucharest was a shitshow. It was a dead man's land. Like I said before, I was the only one who lived in this building, besides maybe a couple of squatters on the bottom floor. Bucky's apartment looked the same as we left it. It did get lonely and I barely slept. At night, when helicopters would fly overhead and the lights would shine in the window, I could see Bucky and JJ's shadows on the wall, even though I knew they weren't there. That took some getting used to. I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me and after a while, I wouldn't sleep until I saw their shadows. Like they were looking over me.

Everyday would bleed into the next. I would workout in the morning, find a grocery store to get food, and come back to my apartment. No one really ever talked or even looked at me. The people that did survive the snap didn't know that I had anything to do with it, but they did see me with Bucky a couple of years ago so there was some suspicion. Some days when I would come home, there would be graffiti on the boarded up windows that read, "Get Away! Fire Hazard Inside", "Leave This City, Bitch!", or, my personal favorite, "Worse Than The Winter Soldier".

When the sun finally set, I was pacing my apartment, overthinking.

Should I have left with them?

What if they get everyone back and I'm not there?

What if they don't and I'm stuck without Bucky and my son forever?

My thoughts were loud until they were interrupted by a knock at my door. I stayed silent until they knocked again.

"What the hell..." I whispered. I was confused, and also scared because, well, no one has knocked one that door in years. That's when I knocked over the silverware that was on the counter, causing a crash. "You idiot" I thought. I almost panicked because I didn't have a weapon but I remembered my powers. I haven't used them in years but they were still there. I slowly walked over to the door and I jolted when they knocked again.

"Who is it?" I called out. Nothing. I looked through the peephole in the door but I couldn't see anything, like, it was blocked. What the fuck.

"Who's there?" I called out again. Nothing. They just knocked, louder.

"Go away!" I yelled. This time, the knocking went on for far too long. That's when I had enough and grabbed the door handle.

"Listen I said go-...."

"Hey there...told you I would see you later."

I was breathless.

"Simon...."