Venus | James B. Barnes✔️

lxvii. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚙

A BLINDING white light was all anyone could see. After a moment, it went away as if nothing happened, but Evelyn could tell something had happened, of course. The air seemed to change again. Evelyn gripped Bucky's hand tighter as she stood up with him. Steve stood next as the other Avengers they could see did the same.

"What'd you do?" Thor said hatefully. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

They all watched as Thanos disappeared the same way he came. The blue and gray portal seemed to take him away, leaving the ax in his chest to fall to the Wakandan ground as if he had never been there at all. Thor stared at it in fear, wondering what the hell Thanos has just done to their world.

No one expected him to follow through on his plans to erase half the globe. It seemed too drastic, too unnecessary.

Steve stumbled toward Thor, holding his side. "Where'd he go? Thor... where'd he go?" he asked carefully as Evelyn tightened her hand with Bucky's.

Suddenly, Bucky's hand disappeared from her grasp.

Evelyn turned her head sharply, seeing Bucky staring at his own hands in fear. "Steve?" he called before he locked eyes with Evelyn. "Lyn, I don't know what's—" his words were cut off as his entire body seemed to turn to dust... his gun falling to the ground with a loud clank in the quiet clearing.

"James!?" she shouted, her voice holding the worst heartbreak they had ever heard the woman produce. "James, where did you go!?" Evelyn's frantic eyes did not stray from the dust left on her hand and the dust on the ground, eyes watering as her brain tried to comprehend what the hell she just witnessed. Her legs gave out, falling into his ashes as Steve stared at where his best friend once was. Steve rushed over, his own hand grabbing the ashes as if it would bring him back.

"S-Steve?" Evelyn asked her unspoken question as tears stayed streaming down her face. Steve turned sharply when he heard T'Challa's voice.

"Up, General. Up! This is no place to die," the King stated to Okoye before he, too, disappeared in ashes and dust. Evelyn's throat seemed to close as Okoye shouted for her king.

Next to them, they could see Rocket and Groot sitting together. Groot began to disintegrate as he murmured, "I am Groot..."

"No... no. No. No. No! Groot, no..." Rocket called for his friend.

Evelyn turned to see Wanda's mourning figure sitting over Vision. She disappeared next as they heard Rhodey screaming for Sam. Sam had disappeared as well.

It was quiet as the other waited to see who would disappear next. Bruce managed to get out of the suit as he stumbled over to Natasha, helping her out of the caging Thanos placed her in. Rhodey made it into the clearing, eyes wide with fear as Rocket and Thor watched Evelyn's figure warily as Steve pulled her to his chest. Okoye and Natasha began to search for other survivors.

"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey demanded to know as he saw Evelyn's hands not leaving the ashes.

Steve fell back with her in his arms as he murmured, "Oh, God."

Evelyn managed to stop her tears, knowing she had to help. She had to be strong. They could get him back, right? They had to find Thanos, snap their own fingers. Bring everyone back. They could do it. Pushing away from Steve, she grabbed Bucky's gun and strapped it to her back as she began to walk toward their home.

Steve looked around, seeing the remaining Avengers waiting for instruction while they seemed to think twice about following Evelyn. Steve knew he needed to follow her—make sure she was not going to lose her head over what was to come. "We need to get back to the Compound. Run deep space scans... anything. We have to find him."