Chapter Forty-Seven
"Have you been practicing?" Wanda asked her little sister, keeping a look out while Shuri continued to work on Vision.
She needed to know whether or not Alya had a grasp on her powers now, because she might need to use them today. Under normal circumstances, no one would even think about allowing Alya to fight in these battles, but this was bigger than anything they've ever faced.
Wanda needed to know if she was ready.
"Yes." Alya nodded dutifully, gripping her bow and adjusting her quiver. This time, she had real arrows, not plunger arrows. If she was lucky, she could fight from a distance. "I can move stuff a lot easier now. But only small stuff."
"Good. You might have to do that today." She didn't want to scare the girl, but the reality of it was, she was going to have to fight.
Alya turned her attention over to Vision and Shuri, creeping closer and closer until she reached them. Shuri glanced and sent her a friendly, yet nervous smile, but what Alya was drawn to, was Vision.
There was something she was feeling deep in her bones that she couldn't quite ignore.
And before she could think about it, she reached her hand out and wiggled her fingers, her blue tendrils flowing from her body, connecting to the the mind stone.
It felt warm, fuzzy, comforting. Almost like receiving a hug from an old friend. She felt a beating heart, emotions, thoughts, dreams.
"Alya!" Wanda startled her into stopping and she gasped. "What did you do?"
"I…I felt him." She stammered, shaking her head a little.
"You can feel him?" Wanda thought that she was the only one capable of doing that. Her powers were connected to the mind stone because that's how she got them. Alya's powers must have originated the same way.
Maybe that's why when they intertwined their tendrils, the red and the blue created a beautiful purple.
"Yes." Alya nodded, still reeling from the encounter. "He's worried."
"Don't do that again." Wanda pointed a stern finger at her, doing a double take when she saw all the chaos going on outside. "Stay here."
"Where are you going?" Alya's eyes widened. Wanda couldn't leave her here! If something went wrong, then she would need her help!
"They need help. Stay here and watch Vision."
"Wanda!"
"Oh no." Shuri murmured, receiving an alert that the enemy was just outside and ready to break in.
"What?" Alya asked.
"They're here."
Shuri rushed to disconnect all of her equipment, forcing Vision to wake with a gasp. Alya did her best to help him stand, but he was a little weak from the procedure.
"C'mon." She encouraged him. "You can do it."
As Shuri finished shutting everything down, the Dora Milaje unsuccessfully took on the tall looking alien that was trespassing. She snatched up her weapons and fired them at him, trying to keep him from getting to Vision. The Dora Milaje attacked once again, but she and Shuri were tossed right over the balcony.
"You have to go." Vision told Alya.
"No, Wanda told me to stay with you." She shook her head. "I'm staying."
The alien, who Alya didn't know was named, Corvus Glaive, growled at the two of them before Vision charged at him. Alya watched as they went at it, using her tendrils to throw small items at Glaive to get him to leave Vision alone.
And it worked for a moment. It actually gave Vision a chance to tackle Glaive, sending them both flying out of the window, leaving Alya all alone.
"Guys, we got a Vision situation here." Sam spoke on comms.
"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve ordered.
"On my way." Wanda told them.
Alya had no idea where Wanda was and how long it would take her to get to Vision. Meanwhile, she could probably find him faster.
She had to protect that mind stone or all of this would be for no reason at all. So, looking out of the window, she took a deep breath, trying not to think of how high a fall this was going to be before jumping.
She didn't think she'd ever like the feeling of free falling not matter how many times she did it.
But she had to remain calm.
She took another deep breath, closed her eyes, and let her powers do the rest.
And when she opened her eyes again, she was safely on the ground, crouched in a pose that she was sure Yelena would tease her for.
"Guys! Vision needs back up now!" Bruce called.
Alya ran as fast as her legs would carry her, only ever stopping to beat the ever-loving daylights out of the aliens that dared to get in her way with the collapsible bow Clint gave to her.
She knew it would come in handy.
Wakanda was so big and it was taking longer than she thought to get to Vision, but she wasn't going to give up. Nothing was going to stop her from doing this.
When she finally did get to Vision, it looked like he didn't really need her help after all.
He and Steve had defeated Glaive all by themselves.
"Alya!" Steve pulled her into his arms, checking her over for injuries and finding a few.
She couldn't even feel them. Her adrenaline was pumping so hard, she hadn't noticed the cut above her eyebrow and the one on her sleeve.
"How did this happen?"
"I fought." She gave him a lopsided grin. Her nonchalance about this whole thing was making her uncle more frantic.
"Are you okay?"
"Sure I am, but they're not." She joked half-heartedly, strangely invigorated by fighting all these creatures, but she couldn't help but feel like this wouldn't end very well.
"Vision, are you okay?" Wanda cupped her lover's face in her hands very gently, but it wasn't enough to keep him from flinching. "What? What is it?"
Something was wrong, very wrong.
"He's here."
Alya's eyebrows furrowed as the wind began to pick up, sending a chill down her spine.
"Everyone, on my position." Steve instructed, activating the shields that T'Challa supplied him with. "We have incoming."
"What in the world?" Natasha forced Alya behind her as the dust kicked up and bluish-black clouds formed, a large, purple figure in armor emerging from them.
"Cap." Bruce, decked out in the machine Tony created to take down the Hulk. "That's him."
"Eyes up." Steve nodded. "Stay sharp."
Everyone charged at the mad Titan, giving it their best shot in an attempt to succeed. Everything was at stake and they had to win.
"Wanda, it's time." Vision told her as everyone else, save for Alya, fought to buy them some time.
He was hoping that Shuri would be able to get the mind stone out of his head safely, but that was no longer an option. Thanos was here and they needed to move now.
Wanda was going to have to destroy the stone by herself.
"No." She shook her head, tears gathering in her tired eyes.
She couldn't do it. Not to Vision. For the past two years, they had really connected. She loved him and he loved her. She just couldn't do this to him.
"They can't stop him, Wanda, but we can." He insisted. "Look at me. You have the power to destroy the stone."
"Don't." Her lips curved downwards.
"You must do it. Wanda, please. We are out of time."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can. You can. If he gets the stone, half the universe dies."
"I—"
"It's not fair. It shouldn't be you, but it is. It's alright. You could never hurt me. I just feel you…" Vision soothed her as best as he could, but he needed to convince her to do what needed to be done.
And when he uttered those words, an idea clicked in Alya's head. "I can feel you, too." She said. "I can help."
"No." Wanda shook her head as she wiggled her fingers and began to destroy the mind stone. She didn't want that kind of guilt on her sister's conscience. "No. You help me hold him off."
If anyone had to do it, it needed to be her. She wasn't going to let her twelve year old sister do it just to spare her feelings. Alya loved Vision, too. It must've taken a lot for her to be able to even suggest the idea.
"I appreciate you friendship, Alya." Vision smiled at the girl. "Thank you."
Alya sniffled as she began to cry tears of her own and tied her powers with Wanda, creating a purple aura once again just to hold Thanos off.
"It's alright. I love you."
Wanda nodded as the dam broke, cracking the stone, before it completely shattered, sending a burst of energy that could be felt for miles.
The two sisters collapsed right next to each other, both mourning the loss of a dear friend. Thanos finally was able to make his way closer and pressed a gentle hand to Wanda's head in comfort.
"I understand, my child."
When Alya looked up at him, she likened him to the monsters parents told their children about. He was huge and he was ugly. His eyes held no emotion and his goal was despicable. He was a maniac that actually believed that what he was doing was right.
"You could never." Wanda glared. "Alya, run."
"Wanda—"
"—Run!"
Alya whimpered, standing up on her feet and running in the opposite direction. She didn't stop until she reached an open and empty clearing, falling to her knees in pure fear and exhaustion.
Her mind was racing a mile a minute and her heart beat like a hummingbird's. She had just come face to face with the alien that wanted to wipe out half the universe and she left Wanda with him.
Alone.
She didn't know where anyone was anymore. She didn't know if they were okay or not.
Why did Thanos want to do this? Why couldn't he just go back home and leave everyone else alone?
What was happening?
"Wanda?"
Alya's face scrunched to a grimace as a wave of pain hit her body. She stood up and stumbled onto her feet, looking very much like she was intoxicated.
She had been in that same clearing for quite some time, and nothing happened. That is, until she got a weird feeling that shot through her body.
Every step she took felt like she was stepping on glass and she had to blink rapidly every few seconds to keep her vision from blackening.
"Wanda!"
Something was wrong with Wanda, that much she knew. She couldn't explain it, but she could feel it.
It was a sickening feeling, nauseous.
"Wanda!"
"Alya?" Her father stumbled over. "Steve?"
Before either of the two could get to the man, he tripped over absolutely nothing and collapsed into pure ashes, the gun he was carrying falling onto the ground.
"Papa!" Alya screamed for him, but she didn't have the energy to run over, her face wet with tears.
"Alya." Steve grab ahold of the child, his grip too tight to be comfortable.
Alya was sure his hold on her would cause some bruises later on, but she really wasn't concerned with that. He was terrified of her vanishing into thin air the way her father just did.
"Something's wrong with Wanda…I can't feel her anymore…." She whimpered as her mother rushed over. "Mama!" She threw herself at the woman, who caught her just like she always did.
"What's the matter? Are you okay?" Natasha pushed some stray hair away from her pale face. "Honey, talk to me."
All of a sudden, the pain Alya was feeling increased in a ten fold and she screamed, her legs giving out on her. Her breathing quickened and her head pounded, she had never felt so sick in her entire life.
"Alya!" Natasha crouched down to her knees to keep her from crashing.
"Mama, Peter…." The twelve year old gasped as her stomach twisted. She couldn't feel him anymore either. He was gone, just like everyone else that had disappeared.
Her stomach contracted and bile rose in her throat, leaving her body in a projectile motion before she collapsed in a painful heap, looking up at her mother.
"Mama?" She croaked. "I…..I don't….I'm scared."
She had never seen her mother cry. Not like this. Natasha was one tear away from full on sobbing. Her face was red, her eyes were bloodshot, and her nose was running.
"Don't be scared, sweet girl. It's okay." She kissed her forehead, trying to remain calm for her even though she was on the brink of freaking out.
"It hurts…."
"Ssh." She soothed her. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Alya reached out. "Uncle…Steve…?"
"I'm here, Buddy. I'm right here." He knelt down and held her hand, tears already streaming down his face. He made no effort to hide them.
"Don't let me….go…."
Natasha let out such a strangled cry when Alya turned right to ashes in her arms, her whole body trembling with sobs and grief.
No one had ever seen the great and feared Black Widow breakdown like this. Not ever. Her fists clutched the dirt underneath her, grasping for any semblance of her daughter, needing to be able to feel her.
"My b-baby!" She even sounded like she was in physical pain. "M-My baby!"
Steve gathered her up in his arms and held her close, but it did nothing to comfort her.
He wasn't the one she needed.
"My baby!"