Splintered Arrows

About a week after the wedding, I finally found out what Bruce and Tony’s “secret project” was. Clint barged into my room one morning, a huge smile plastered on his face.

“I have some news,” he said from the doorway. I rubbed my eyes, stretched, and looked at him.

“I would assume so, considering you look like a five year old on Christmas morning.” He sighed and chuckled before walking into my room.

“I don’t know any of the science behind it, but Bruce and Tony think they can help you walk again.” I froze mid-stretch.

“What? But, the doctors, they said-” My eyes were filling up with tears, and I couldn’t form a cohesive sentence.

“Like I said, I don’t know, and I didn’t really give them the chance to explain any of it to me.” We went into the lab, where Bruce and Tony, along with Steve, were waiting.

“I see Clint woke you up,” Bruce said.

“Yeah. What’s happening?” I asked, still half asleep.

“Before I get there, I need to tell you how we got here. So, when you were in the hospital, Natasha called me and told me what happened. She also said that there was a good chance that you would move here after your release. I knew I had to do something to help you; I just didn’t know what. Then, Steve called me a couple of days later and told me there wasn’t enough of your legs left for prosthetics.” That much was true, and it was the main reason I was so shocked we were even having this conversation.

“I also had an idea,” Steve said. “Bucky’s first prosthetic was destroyed, and he got a new one in Wakanda. So, I thought, maybe Bruce could use Bucky’s arm as a sort of template to make legs for you.”

“Unfortunately, the one who designed and built the arm disappeared in the Snap,” Tony said.

“Which is why I called in a favor,” Bruce said. “I called Okoye- she sort of took over Wakanda after the Snap- and asked her for the design that was used for Bucky’s arm. I explained everything to her, and she was hesitant. I told her to give me time to come up with a more concrete plan and get back with her.”

“Then, when I got better,” Tony began, “I started helping. We didn’t want to tell you until we knew we could even try. That’s why we worked in secret. The three of us were the only ones that knew about it. Bruce and I worked on the plans, and Steve was the sort of middle man between us and everyone else.”

“No,” Steve said. “I made sure you two idiots ate and slept.” We all laughed.

“Anyway,” Bruce said, “we just got the okay from Okoye this morning. We wanted to run it by you before we did anything else.”

“Run it by me? Are you kidding?” I looked at the three of them in disbelief. “If there’s even the slightest chance that this could work, I want to take it.” Tony and Bruce smiled.

“Alright,” Tony said. “I’ll Okoye and let her know. You guys might want to start packing; I’m not sure when we’ll leave.” Bruce, Steve, Clint and I left Tony in the lab and went to pack.

“How long should we pack for?” I asked Bruce.

“You ask me like I know the answer,” he said. “I think if you pack for a week, you should be fine. You don’t have to pack right now, but I would if you have enough clothes and stuff.”

The day ended up being a week later. The night before we left, Tony took everyone out to eat at a fancy Italian restaurant. Bruce tried calling Thor when we got to the restaurant, but he got no response.

“He’s probably busy rebuilding New Asgard,” Tony reassured him, even though he didn’t look too confident. Bruce nodded politely, in that way that people do when they know the other person is just trying to help.

While we were waiting on our food, we talked about the “game plan.” Clint, Bruce, Tony, and Natasha would go to Wakanda with me, while Steve, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy would stay in New York.

“I need to make sure you understand something, Alex,” Tony said. “There’s a chance this won’t work, and this will all be for nothing.” I looked at him and nodded.

“I know, but there’s a chance, and you’re clearly willing to try. I want to take that chance. I trust you, I trust Bruce, and I want you to try.” I turned to face Bruce and smiled. “Thank you. I know you’ve been working almost nonstop for me, and I can’t thank you enough for that.” Bruce smiled and nodded.

“You’re family, Alex,” he said. “We do whatever we can for family.” I looked around the table and saw that he was right; we were missing some people, but they’re still important to us. When I met them, they had been through the wringer. And here comes me, a complete stranger to most of them, needing more help than anyone else. They took me in, no questions asked, and now they’re giving me hope for the first time in months.

“Can I say something?” I said while we were waiting for the bill. “I just wanted to thank you all for everything. I know I came into your lives at a time when you probably didn’t want to deal with anyone, so I really appreciate everything you have done for me. These past couple months have been really hard for all of us, but they have also been the best couple months I’ve had in a really long time. I lost my parents four and a half years ago, and the only other blood relatives I had died last year. I knew I had Clint, but I had no idea how the rest of you would react to me being here. And you took me in, you welcomed me, and you treated me like a part of the family. And I will never be able to thank you enough for that.

“No matter what happens in Wakanda- whether it works or not- I am so thankful to have all of you by my side. Words will never be able to adequately describe how much your love and support means to me.”

“Alex,” Steve began, “when you came to us, we were all in a pretty dark place. We lost against Thanos, and the entire universe had to pay the price. And then Clint called Natasha and said that you were in trouble. I don’t think any of us expected you to help us as much as you have. I think I speak for all of us when I say this, but you saved us.” I looked around the table and saw everyone nodding in agreement.

“I don’t think there’s much I haven’t already said to you at some point,” Clint began. “I am just so proud of you. You have been through hell more than once, and you come out on top every time. When I saw you on the side of the road that day, I had no idea that you would end up meaning so much to me.

“Whatever happens in Wakanda, you’ll get through it, just like you always do. And all of us will be right there with you.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I wanted it to work, but I also wanted to be realistic; even Tony and Bruce weren’t sure it would work. So, instead of sleeping, I ran through possible scenarios: it works, and I walk again; it doesn’t work, and I spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair after having wasted a trip to Africa; something goes wrong and I end up in a coma; the list went on and on. By the time I finally fell asleep, the sun was coming up.

Despite getting to sleep at 7AM, I was dressed and ready by 9:30. I grabbed my duffel bag, put it on my lap, and pushed myself out to the kitchen, where Steve had made breakfast.

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked. It felt weird that it was just the two of us.

“I think they’re all packing; they already ate. Are you nervous?” he asked as he set a plate of pancakes in front of me and sat across the table from me. I sighed and nodded.

“How could I not be?” I replied after I finished the first bite of pancake. “If this works, everything’s going to change. If it doesn’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do. And I know Clint says we’ll figure it out, and I know we will, but the uncertainty terrifies me.” He sighed and smiled at me.

“You are stronger than you think you are, Alex. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I will be more than happy to help you with whatever you need. Whatever happens, know that I am proud of you.” I smiled softly and ate my pancakes. Ever since I got to New York, Steve became almost like an uncle to me. Hearing him say that when it was just the two of us in the kitchen made me feel like he genuinely meant what he said.

By the time I was done eating, everyone who would be going to Wakanda had come out to the kitchen, and we got on the quinjet and said goodbye to everyone who was staying back.

When the door closed, everyone went to their seats. Natasha would be piloting, Clint and I sat off to the side, and Tony and Bruce were sitting in the middle. As soon as we took off, the nerves hit me again. I kept clenching and unclenching my hands, and my breath started getting quicker.

“Hey,” Clint said, putting his hand on mine. “It’s going to be okay. I know you’re worried; to tell you the truth, I am too. But, I trust Bruce, and I trust Tony. And they wouldn’t have brought this up to us if they weren’t ready.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked. “What if it doesn’t work, and nothing changes?” Clint sighed.

“Then we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing for the past couple of months. And if it does work, which is what I’ve been planning on, we’ll take everything one day at a time. Regardless of what happens, we’re going to be okay. Everything is going to work out, one way or another.” He turned to look at me. “You look like you got maybe two hours of sleep last night. We won’t be in Wakanda for a while. Why don’t you try and get some sleep?”

“First of all, I got two and a half hours, thank you very much,” I joked. “Second, I’m- I’m fine,” I added with a yawn. Clint chuckled and nodded as he put his arm around me.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll wake you up when we get there.” I thought about protesting, but I was out before I could even start to argue.