Picking Up The Pieces

65. The Sacrifice

   "Stacy, stay with me," I pleaded, watching the girl writhe on the floor in agony. Blood was trickling from my fingertips, dripping on the floor at a sickly fast pace. "Stacy, Stacy! Think about school, think about all those trips you want to go on." My brain was racing, grabbing for any possible key word that could keep her focused on staying alive. "Think about Faith! Think about Betty and Michelle!"

Stacy's head whipped back, and a gut-wrenching scream came from her mouth. Her pupils were dilated, and each of her fingers would twitch violently in different directions than the other. She had been at this for an hour, and I was stuck chained in a chair, forced to watch her body struggle to live. I couldn't give her up and let her die like all the other teenagers Hawkes had kidnapped, but I couldn't give up my blood. The entire fate of the world laid in my hands, and there was no one able to help me.

I was all alone.

I hung my head, my neck muscles aching just from holding it up, and I started to cry shakily At first, I tried to hold it in, but then I didn't care. There was no reason to hide how I felt. I was alone and no one was coming for me.

"You're not alone, kid." I lifted my head slightly and glanced to the left of the room to see Steve leaning against the wall, his arms crossed against his chest and dressed in jeans and a grey long sleeve. "You'll always have us."

"You're not really here," I whispered, my voice cracking. "I'm clearly hallucinating; the toxin is taking its toll." Steve's smile fell slightly, and the blond man sighed. "I miss you all so much. I couldn't sleep my first night by myself after I left, all I could do was... cry. I'm not fit for this. I keep lying to myself and pretending I do, but it's... so clear I don't. Every situation that comes next, every battle... I'm doing more harm than good!" I took a breath and turned my head away, squeezing my eyes shut as a new wave of tears came. "Atlantis, being an Avenger... it's all a joke. This world would've been so much better if I died in that HYDRA facility like I was supposed to."

"That is an entire load of bullshit." I felt a hand caress my face to rub my cheek, and I opened my eyes to see Bucky kneeling beside me. His other arm was missing, and his dark hair fell flat. "You gave me hope. You gave so many others hope. You're worth so much more than you think, Isabel." I stayed quiet, my lip trembling as I stared into his eyes. All I could see was the helpless reflection of myself, my deathly pale frame and my bones starting to stick out from under my skin like I was a walking skeleton. "You're loved, Isabel."

"You're going to get through this, Stark." I looked away from Bucky to Rocket, who walked up in front of me from the opposite corner of Steve. "This isn't the end for you. The final battle is far from over." The raccoon took my broken, bleeding fingers, and I felt a cold healing sensation where his paws made contact with my skin. "You have to focus, understood?"

I nodded, looking up from him to Steve and Bucky. My lungs felt heavy, every breath an uneasy task. "What do I do?" I felt a hand on my left shoulder, and I looked up to see Loki staring down at me with understanding. His black hair was shorter than before New York, and he looked the way I had started to remember him in my youth. "You're clearly all my subconscious, help me. What is my plan?"