SECOND CHANCE

The weight was a familiar comfort. It reminded her of simpler times, of when their only problems were to successfully hunt down those working under Thanos. It made her heart race slightly less, and in a time when she needed to keep her hands as steady as possible, she appreciated any bit of comfort she could get it. 

She would need it. 

This wasn't what they were used to. They were used to battling his minions and lackeys, and it barely crossed their minds that they'd ever come face to face with the mass murderer himself. Until they were given their mission, the possibility of coming close to Thanos was next to nothing. Now it was inevitable. 

She sighed, looking at Curio from the corner of her eye. He was struggling to fit the magazine into the gun, his hands fumbling to slot it in properly. Her heart ached for him; at the same time, worry clouded her thoughts. Would he really be a benefit on the field if he was such a shaking mess at the sheer thought of Thanos? Locusta shook the thought out of her head - they needed as many people as they could get. 

"Pass it here," Locusta said, making sure the safety was on her gun before slipping it into her waistband. Curio shook his head as if to protest, but he didn't have chance to as she plucked the gun and magazine from his quaking grip, easily slotting it in. With a soft smile, she handed it back to him. He mirrored her actions, yet the action didn't meet his eyes. She wondered if hers were like that too. 

Maybe her eyes had stopped holding light the moment poison mutated her body. 

As if it had been beckoned, her hands surged in another wave of torture. It crippled her, and her fingers twitched slightly under the unbearable sting. All she could do was bite her lip harshly, paying no mind to the metallic taste quickly filling her mouth. 

"You know how to use a gun?" James Rhodes, or as Locusta quickly grew to know him as, Rhodey, questioned. His brow was raised high on his forehead, and he looked as though he was prepared to take it from her at any second. 

"I know how to use them all." Locusta shrugged, pulling the gun out and sliding the chamber back. "You find a speciality when you realise fighting is all you've ever do. I'm great at tactics, but that won't save my ass when someone, or something, is coming at me with a spear." 

Rhodey makes a noise of appreciation, taking in how she held the gun like it was an extension of her arm. It seemed to satisfy him, and Locusta inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to have to have another argument. "Couldn't you use your powers?" 

Locusta paused. Rhodey didn't wait for an answer, equipping himself with everything that he needed. He was putting the War Machine suit on when he continued to grill her. "You could kill someone in seconds. Surely that's more effective than a gun?" 

She wanted to tell the truth. Say about how each time she used it the agony in her body only grew. When she first started using her powers, her body only tingled in response; but now? Now, her body was an inferno. 

"Only if the target is close." 

Rhodey opened his mouth to speak again, only be cut off by Curio. The look he sent her only confirmed her suspicions - he was trying to divert the conversation. 

"You're War Machine? I thought that was Tony Stark?" 

*

If her life wasn't at risk, she'd be in awe of the beauty Wakanda had to offer. It was truly breath taking, and she could only imagine how gorgeous the landscape was when there wasn't an alien war ship shattered into smithereens. Curio walked calmly beside her, a gun strapped to his back and one cradled in his arms. He looked like a soldier. 

Locusta instantly cut off the thought - he didn't look like a soldier. He looked like Curio. They wouldn't let this war define them. It would only be a part of their story, and everything else that followed would be boringly mundane. 

Maybe she'd even be able to find a cure to reverse the poison. 

"You know, there are worse missions to be on." Curio mused, eyes squinting against the blinding son. Locusta scoffed, and Curio sent her a frown, carrying on. "We have a second chance. Not many people get those."

"Yeah, and not many people manage to fuck it up." Locusta grimly smiled, staring straight ahead. As much as she tried, she couldn't block out the sadness suddenly filling Curio's expression. "But hey, at least we found each other." 

Curio's lips slightly curled at the corners. "It reminds me of your first month at Libertas." 

"I wasn't that clingy." 

"Sure." Curio teasingly smiled, nudging Locusta slightly. She stumbled, shrugging her arm away from Curio's reach. 

 "We're about to go to battle, jack ass." Locusta said, turning away. Her crimson cheeks were prominent against her olive skin, and she just prayed that he didn't see it. 

Curio simply shrugged, focusing his attention on the other side of the barrier. From the distance they were at, they could faintly make out two figures. Even though they could only make out general details, the two were hit with a wave of familiarity. They were two members of the Black Order, and Locusta had recently pissed one of them off. Majorly. 

Locusta gulped heavily. She was going to have to be exceptionally careful in this fight. Proxima Midnight was a force to be reckoned with, and her murderous intent would be mainly angled towards Locusta. She did hurt one of the members after all, and from the big hulking mass besides her, she knew that he wasn't there. 

It hit her suddenly - did she manage to kill a member of the Black Order? Was that seriously all it took? If it was just as simple as Locusta using her powers against them, then it should've been easy to take down all of the members of the Black Order. Why didn't Strange utilise that?

She bit her lip again. Now wasn't the time to be distracted. Recently, so many thoughts were circling in her head that she could barely make out what they were. She needed to focus. 

She fixed her gaze on the three heroes walking towards the edge of the barrier. T'Challa, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff made an interesting looking trio, and when they were in uniform they oozed fierceness. Locusta almost envied the costumes and armour they had - not only were they heroes, they looked the part. 

The trio were talking to half of the Black Order, and from how long it was going on for, it didn't inspire any hope. It was all dashed as Proxima brandished her sword with a snarl, the ships behind her opening its doors to release the inhabitants. 

Suddenly Locusta didn't feel as calm having her guns. They didn't seem like they'd be enough in comparison to those beasts. Their bodies were mangled, with razor sharp claws and deadly teeth. A bullet wasn't going to do much against hell's pets. 

"What the hell are they?" Curio's mouth dropped open, gawping at the creatures. Locusta didn't offer an explanation, too shocked to add much. Even she had no idea what was happening. 

Unfazed, the three heroes walked back to the massed forces. Locusta felt massively insignificant, her gaze falling over the diverse troops. All of the tribes from Wakanda were fighting, along with what Avengers they could find. There were many, but in comparison with what they were up against? There weren't nearly as many people as they needed. 

To Curio's left, Bucky Barnes stood. His grip was held tightly on his machine gun, and he had a solemn look on his face. Locusta didn't blame him - it all looked hopeless. "Did they surrender?"

 "Not exactly." Steve's words sent her heart racing. If she wasn't nervous before, she was now terrified. This was now happening. This wasn't just a plan for the future, something happening eventually. This was taking place in the present, and in that present, they could all die. 

Everything Libertas worked for depended on this moment. 

They would know if all of their sacrifices were worth it in the following hours. 

T'Challa led his people in a war cry. With each chant, Locusta felt more sweat bead along her hair line. Her grip on the gun was getting slippy. Maybe Rhodey was right to question her in the armoury - was she really ready for something like this? It didn't matter now, it was too late to back out. She just had to hope that the confidence she had in herself was true, and if hope was the only thing she could rely on, she knew in the back of her mind she was truly screwed.

Proxima dropped her sword arm down. In an instant, the beasts began flinging themselves at the barrier, furiously clawing to get through. They were an ocean - unpredictable, ruthless and infinite. 

"All this trouble for us? Is it weird to think it's flattering?" Curio smirked, it quickly falling as he noticed the glum faces. 

"Looks like we pissed her off." Natasha commented, and Locusta felt even worse. A weight was added to her shoulders. It was her fault she was pissed. She was the one to place that hand on her friend, knowing what it would do. And she didn't care because she didn't want to die, but all it might have done was prolong her death. 

The weight got heavier as she watched. She saw the beasts hurling themselves at the barrier, squeezing their limbs and bodies through the dome, their bodies slicing in half as they made contact. 

"They're killing themselves." Okoye gaped, watching as some beasts clambering over the dead bodies and got through the barrier. 

Locusta switched the safety off of her gun, pulling the hammer back. She needed to be prepared. 

One of the Wakandan tribes took a knee, pulling their capes in front of them. It transformed into a shield, and the moment they were up, another tribe stood behind them, using sonic spears to fire at the incoming monsters. Taking a deep breath, Locusta began firing. 

The gun trembled with each hit, the familiar kick back slightly soothing her erratic breathing. She continuously was firing at the monsters, always able to find another to take down. It seemed that the more they killed, the more that attacked. 

She kicked a monster away from her, unloading her clip into the beast. It squirmed under the onslaught, twitching until it finally collapsed. Locusta robotically replaced the clip, something catching her eye. 

The monsters. 

They were surrounding the dome. 

"Guys, we have a real big problem!" Locusta shouted, catching the attention of T'Challa. He stopped fighting momentarily, his gaze following Locusta's. "If we let them surround us, we're dead." 

T'Challa grunted, swiping his claws at another beast, talking into his comms. Locusta didn't care what he had to say, her focus moving from him for a second as she killed a monster coming too close for comfort. Once it was on the ground, she huffed a breath, brushing her hair out of her face. "I hope you told them to open a part of the barrier." 

T'Challa didn't say anything for a second, too busy taking down another monster. An ultimate squeal told her it was dead. "How did you think of that?" 

"Tactics is literally all I've been doing for the past few years." Her eyes caught something moving behind T'Challa's shoulder. Not wasting a moment, she spun the gun in that direction and mercilessly began firing. T'Challa ducked out of the way, finding another target to take down. 

"Thank you." T'Challa said, speaking more into his comms, before turning to her. "As much as I'm loving our conversation, I need to go do something completely reckless and irresponsible. It was nice meeting you." 

"Nice meeting you too!" Locusta shouted after his disappearing form, spending little time pondering what just happened. Her attention was quickly grabbed by the creatures throwing themselves at her, and she rhythmically shot at them all, rarely missing. 

Already her body was growing weary; she couldn't succumb to the exhaustion. A section of the barrier was opening, and Locusta knew that this fight was only just beginning. 

-

hey guys! so i've now started updating this twice a week since it's all done writing wise, it just all needs publishing. i have had some ideas for a christmas surprise for you all, and i can't wait to get round to it! also, has anyone had any ideas of what they'd like for me to include in the deleted scenes? i think what i'm going to do is have one deleted scene for each character, and so far i have one for locusta and one for messalina (though they're all technically involved in that one), so if you have any ideas for curio or octavian just comment here or send me a pm and i'll give it a shot, and once it's published i'll tag you for credit. 

you all looking forward to the holidays? i'm not that excited this year, with major mock exams in january that i have done next to no prep for so i may have a breakdown ahaha. you got any holiday traditions? 

thank you for reading, see you guys soon!

-thirdwheelchurchill