Chapter 15
Captain America was exhausted. He could hardly stay upright on one knee, let alone stand.
He was alone on the battlefield.
Tony was down.
Clint had gone down with the rubble.
Rhodey, Bruce and Rocket were still trapped. Still drowning. On his Comm, he couldn't hear them anymore.
Scott had been on his way to them. He couldn't here him either.
Nebula had gone rogue.
Thor had left them.
Nat... Nat was gone.
Steve was alone.
And before him, stood Thanos, and an army materializing behind him.
The Chituari, the Black Order, Leviathan, and outriders. An army bigger, more dangerous than he had ever seen.
And Steve was alone.
He closed his eyes, head falling to the dirt in exhaustion.
His breaths were heavy and shaky, and he could barely feel his legs.
But Steve opened his eyes, and groaned in effort as he forced himself slowly to his feet.
His shield was broken. His ears were ringing. His lungs were burning. But still, he stood.
Steve was going to die today, he knew that. But he wouldn't do so without a fight. So with gritted teeth and a trembling hand, Steve tightened the strap of his Shield and faced the army in front of him.
The army advanced. And with shaking steps, so did Steve.
He would fight this battle, and if he had to do it alone, then so be it.
So be i-
"Hey Cap, can you hear me?"
Steve's stumbling steps froze to a stop. His breaths slowed as he raised a hand to the comm in his ear.
That voice. That... that voice.
"Cap it's Sam, can you hear me?"
Steve let in a shaky beath, "Oh god." he whispered.
"On your left."
Lowering his hand, Steve turned slowly, just in time to see a ring of sparkling yellow light form out of nowhere. The ring grew wider, and wider, until Steve saw the silhouettes of three figures from the other side.
Steve's head shook slowly in disbelief as the figures emerged, and he saw their faces.
Okoye, the fierce General. Shuri, the Genius-princess who had loved making jokes about his age. Jokes he hadn't heard in 5 years. And... and T'Challa.
One of Steve's closest friends. Another who had died all those years ago. And... and he was back.
They were back.
The Black Panther looked back at Steve with a small smile on his face, and then his eyes turned to the sky. Steve's eyes followed his, and he saw another ring of light opening above. Steve nearly fell back down when he saw who was on the other side of it.
The Falcon flew from the ring, Wings powerful as he cut through the sky. Steve's shaky smile grew as his eyes followed Sam Wilson, more yellow light portals opening in his wake, more and more people emerging from the other side. People Steve knew, and others he had only ever heard of from the stories of those that had been left behind.
Behind T'Challa, the Wakandan Army appeared.
Behind Valkyrie and her Pegasus, stood dozens of Asgardians.
Wakandan aircrats flew out of the rings.
Doctor Strange floated through, followed by The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Behind them, came the Spider-Man, flying from a web and landing lightly on the ground.
Next to them, the Scarlett Witch landed, a flurry of red flames, and behind her, flew the Vision.
A crash was heard behind them, and from the rubble, came Ant Man, crashing through the ground, the size of a building. He held out his hand, and from it emerged Rocket, Hulk and The War Machine.
From another ring, more Masters of the Mystic Arts appeared, baring their magic in front of them.
There was a crash on the ground as a suit of Iron landed, and its mask pulled back to reveal the face of Pepper Potts.
Next to her, as if out of nowhere, appeared The Wasp. The partner Scott spoke so highly of.
Steve was in disbelief.
His people were here. All of them.
People who had been killed by Thanos all those years ago.
People who had returned. Who were here. Who were alive.
The Falcon flew back down to the ground, landing underneath the ring he had appeared from. The smile on Steve's face faded, and his eyes widened as he saw two more figures emerging from that ring of light.
With a gun in each hand, she jumped, landing next to Sam. The Black Widow's eyes found his and she smirked, cocking both guns in front of her, a lively sparkle in her eyes.
Steve could have cried. She was back.
Natasha was back.
And then next to her...
He landed heavily on his feet as he jumped from the portal, black hair covering his face as he hit the ground.
Steve's breath stuck in his throat when he stood up straight, cocking the machine gun in his hands, and shaking his head to let his hair fall back. And Steve finally saw his face.
The Winter Soldier.
Bucky. Oh god, it was Bucky. it was Bucky.
He was alive. He was back.
His Bucky was back.
Steve's scattered mind would have allowed him to stare at that man for another age, if it weren't for the fact that another yellow ring was forming at his left.
Before the Captain could even wonder, a clap of Thunder, louder than anyone had ever heard, rang out above them, white lightning flashing across the sky.
And out of that final portal, flashed the brightest beam of blinding light. The light disappeared, and there he was
Thor emerged, holding Stormbreaker in one hand, and Miolnir in the other, both weapons alight with the same lighting that burned in the god's eyes.
Next to him, there was a flash of green, and then there stood his brother. Loki, with his face steel and his fists clenched.
On Steve's right, he heard a thud as a red and gold suit landed next to him.
He turned and saw Iron Man, suit scratched and dented, but ready to go.
Ready to fight.
Finally, Steve turned back to the army in front of him.
Behind him, he heard the Black Panther roar.
"Yibambe!"
The Wakandans roared back.
"Yibambe!"
T'Challa's mask formed in front of his face as he howled again "Yibambe!"
This time it was the whole army that cried back.
"Yibambe!"
Thanos was no longer smiling. And the army behind him was no longer as daunting as it once was.
Because now, Steve had his army too. And it was a damned good one.
"Avengers!" Steve called, gripping his broken shield tightly in his hand, feeding off the strength of all those who stood behind him. He smiled through gritted teeth, and growled.
"Assemble."