Artemis : The Seventh Avenger ➳ Steve Rogers [1]

04 [ 08 ]

☆ ☆ ☆

CLINT

I sunk my blade into the man before me and watched as the life in his eyes slowly faded away. His blood swirls with the puddle of rainwater, turning it red.

Twirling my blade around in my hand, I wipe my blade off.

I stare at his lifeless body that only makes anger and pain boil up in me. If all that had happened was supposed to make the world a better place, then why did men like these survive?

That's when I feel a presence behind me. Nothing that posed a threat, but rather, a friend. I didn't even need to look to know who it was.

"You shouldn't be here." I say, pulling off my hood.

"Neither should you." Nat replies.

There's a sense of comfort that came with hearing a friend's voice, but at the same time, it hurt. It reminded me of all the good times, the memories that I didn't deserve to have.

I turn around to face her, but when I saw her face, I realised I couldn't bring myself to look her in the eyes. How could I face my friends like this? Like this Monster I've become?

"I have a job to do." I fix my gaze on the ground, watching the rain fall to the ground.

"Is that what you're calling this?" Nat questions, "Killing all these people isn't going to bring your family back."

I look up at the blurry vision of her as tears welled up in my eyes, fighting back the urge to yell at her for reminding me of everything I've lost even though I knew she was right.

The tears spill over and onto my cheeks, that's when I got a clearer view of her face, one that reflected the same pain and loss that I felt. And immediately, I knew.

"Cam?" My voice trembles as I speak.

Nat stays silent as she tries to fight back tears of her own before she shook her head.

I bow my head as the tears keep coming. Just when I thought the pain couldn't get any worse, it does. The ones that I have cherished so dearly we're all gone and the only other family that I have is in pieces.

"We found something. A chance, maybe-" I cut her off before she gets the chance to finish.

My heart aches, at the thought of a crazy dream that I had, one where I got my family back. But I guess, it was a just dream for a reason.

"Don't." I say between sobs.

"Don't what?" She asks.

I look up at her again, "Don't give me hope."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she steps forward.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner." She says.

She reaches out to take my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze that only makes me want to cry even harder.

"We're going to get them back." She reassures, "Whatever it takes."

Pulling me close, she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Let's go home." She says.

Nat leads me to the jet, where I dry off before taking a seat in the seat next to hers as she pilots it.

"How's the rest of the team?" I ask.

"They're handling it as well as could be expected." She replies, her eyes focused on the path ahead.

"What's the plan?" I ask next.

"We've figured out a way to go back in time to get the stones." She replies, completely serious.

"Time travel?" I couldn't help but furrow my brows at that, "You're shitting me, right?"

"I talk to a raccoon from space, half the population disappeared because some crazy purple dude snapped his fingers and my Sister can magically open portals to wherever she likes." She states, "Is this really that hard to believe?"

I sigh, running a hand over my face. She did have a point.

"Cam." I say, "Were you with her when she..." I trail off, not able to bring myself to finish that sentence.

The air between us turns solemn again as Nat shakes her head.

"Steve was with her." She says, "At least she was with someone that loves her."

She turns to look at me, eyes set with determination. "We have to get them back. I can't live without my sister. She's my flesh and blood."

I reach over, taking her hand, "I know. Like you said, whatever it takes."

Sleep claims me for the rest of the trip and when we arrive back in New York, I immediately head to my old room for a change of clothes and a hot shower.

The hallways feel almost eerily empty before I find the team gathered in the side room of the lab.

"Hey, hey! Easy!" I hear Scott's voice as I enter.

Nobody seems to notice me, all of them too distracted by what they were doing.

"I'm being very careful." Bruce answers, looking rather odd with his new look.

"No, you're being very Hulky!" He yells, clearly tensed.

"I'm being careful!" Bruce argues.

Scott holds up a red bottle, "These are Pym particles, alright? And ever since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it. This is all we have, we're not making anymore." He says.

"Scott, calm down!" Rhodey quickly intervenes before he could get anymore agitated.

"Sorry. We've got enough for one round trip each. That's it. No do-overs." He apologises, "Plus two test rounds."

He fits the red bottle into his suit, that makes him instantly shrink.

"One test round." He corrects when he returns to his original size.

I roll my eyes as he sighs in defeat, "Alright, I'm not ready for this."

"I'm game." I say, earning a couple of surprises glances as the team notices me for the first time since I got here.

I lean against the door frame, folding my arms over my chest. "I'll do it."

"Clint." Bruce greets, eyes still wide with surprise.

I move into the room, "Go on, suit me up."

"Right." Bruce mutters, scrambling to get another suit.

I stood in the middle of the room, taking Scott's place. Taking a deep breath in and out, I brace myself for something I never thought was possible; time travel.

This was it. This determines if we're able to get our families back.