YEAR ONE FIGHTING FOR HER

Curio and Locusta watched Octavian turn off from the world. Neither of them had the ability to read minds but they all knew what was going on in Octavian's head. As much as the pair hated to admit it, but they were glad he was silent. This way they could let the information sink in for themselves and grieve alone.

They were so consumed by their own thoughts that they weren't listening until the room around them fell silent. It took them both a second to register what was going on, with everyone's eye boring into their own. 

"Curio, Locusta - you said you've met him before." Natasha spoke, leaning back and placing her legs on the table. "Surely Thanos must have given some clue as to where he would hide." 

The name was all it took to spark Octavian to life. His voice was small, but loud enough to hit everyone in the room. "You're naive, he's not hiding because he doesn't think he has anything to hide from. He doesn't think he's done anything wrong."

Silence fell throughout the room. It's as if no one had realised that in his own story, Thanos was the hero, not the villain. He was sparing the planet of hardship yet to come, saving them from a future that would cripple them all. In his story, he was a merciful god, but in theirs, he was a plight that tore families and worlds apart. 

"Tony, you fought him, did he give any clues, co-ordinates, anything?" The desperation in Steve's voice was clear, wearing down on the frail man with an IV stuck in his arm. 

An argument quickly ensued - neither Locusta or Curio paid any attention to this, this was a matter of children. What they needed was an action plan. Instead they averted thier focus to their friend, his strong body hunched in the wheelchair. His face was slack, as if he wasn't really alive at all. Some blood was drying on his face, the cuts across his eyes clotting. 

"Look, when you're done with your hissy fit let us know." Curio stood up abruptly, uncaring to the heated argument around him. Locusta followed suit, preparing to take Octavian back to his room when a crash echoed out. They halted in their steps, seeing an unconscious Tony hit the ground. 

"He'll be fine." Curio assured Locusta, not looking back once as he wheeled Octavian back to the confines of his bed, and prison. 

*

By the time Curio and Locusta left Octavian's room, the sun was beginning to dip in the sky. They made their way down to the main area slowly, revelling in the few moments they had spare to themselves. 

If either of them actually thought about it, this was the first time in 23 days that they'd been alone together. 

"It's crazy, huh." Curio faintly smiled, stopping a beat to look at the sunset outside the glass walls. "I feel like this is the first time we've had chance to breathe in a long time." 

"I'm savouring it while it lasts." 

Curio laughed lightly, shoving his hands into his pockets. They set off back down the stairs again, in a world of their own. "So... I haven't had chance to ask since this all went down. How are you doing?" 

Locusta wanted to scoff at how mundane and boring the question was. To the regular bystander, it would just be a casual conversation starter. To them, it was a way of discreetly finding out how much agony was crippling their bodies. 

"Fine." She blatantly lied. Every moment she wasn't thinking about the pain lighting every nerve on fire, she could feel it. 

Curio paused, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Right." 

He wanted to delve deeper into his questioning when they opened the door into the main area, catching sight of the team in their gear, with Steve shouting orders at the front. 

"What's going on?" Locusta questioned, cutting Steve off. He spun around, greeting the pair with a smile. 

"We have a way to bring them back." 

Locusta thought back to Messalina's care free smile, the way she would tease everyone endlessly. She thought back to her dedication and hard work, to the time when she was really drunk one time and admitted to Locusta she only joined to protect her brother.

Curio reminded himself of the how Messalina would constantly pester him, always backing off as soon as she knew she'd reached his limit. He remembered the last time he'd seen her - back in their own reality, where the Black Order were breaking down the door. And all he did was run off and save himself. He couldn't even remember the last thing he said to her. 

"We're in." 

*

Locusta shakily fastened her seat belt, sending Curio a wavering smile. Her nervous gaze wandered over everyone in the ship - Steve was gripping onto the seat as if his life depended on it, Rhodey along with Bruce was staring at everything inside the ship with a child like awe and Natasha  didn't appear fazed at all. Only Thor, Nebula and Rocket seemed comfortable in the ship, the anticipation of going into space suffocating nearly everyone. 

Without much warning the ship pushed forward into the wormhole. Both Curio and Locusta slammed their eyes shut, stomachs uneasy as the force pushed them further into their seats. Neither of them dared to open their eyes until the ship slowed down. 

"We're here." Rocket announced, hovering the ship into orbit above the target planet. Locusta was astounded at what she saw - she'd never been in space and witnessing all of it's true beauty took her breath away. For a moment, she forgot about the constant fire fuelled through her veins. 

She continued to be awestruck when the ship landed, revealing a lucious, tropical fauna. The temperature was just right, allowing her to drink in the heat without feeling as though she was being suffocated. In the middle of it all was a wooden shack, with wood splintering off of structure. Overcasting a shadow over it all is what appears to be a scarecrow. On closer inspection it was adorned in huge metal armour. 

"That look familiar to you?" Curio pointed at the scarecrow. Locusta didn't warrant an answer, knowing already that they had landed in the right place. 

Not wasting a beat they all headed into the shack. Locusta removed her gun from the holster, with Curio copying the action. While it seemed like a mere toothpick in comparison to Thanos' power, the weight of the weapon provided some relief. 

One by one they filed into the shack. It took a moment for Locusta and Curio to see the hulking mass of a monster that destroyed their lives. And they struggled to hold in their gasp. Half of Thanos' strong face was blackened and shrivelled, his features holding an ever lasting pain behind them. 

Subconsciously, Curio glanced down at his own scarred arm. 

"Oh no." The words of the talking raccoon interrupted their inner turmoil. Both of them looked down to where Rocket was, muttering a few colourful words. 

The gauntlet was once golden, now blackened and rusted. More importantly, there were no stones. 

"Where are they?" Steve demanded, taking a step closer to Thanos. Without even realising it, Locusta and Curio had taken that step with him. 

"They served their purpose, beyond that that provided nothing but temptation." 

Curio thought he was going to be sick at Thanos' words. He had a feeling where this conversation would be going, and honestly, he wasn't sure how he would cope if it became a reality. 

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce cried out, and in his hulk buster armour he pushed Thanos down and punched him. 

Locusta couldn't hear anything beyond that. She knew what was going to be said, and she knew how she would react the moment it became true. So when Thanos muttered the fateful words - "I destroyed them" - she let her animal instincts take control. 

Before anyone could stop her she'd lunged forward, throwing aside her gloves and placed her hands on his head. She was deaf to his screams, ignorant to the smell of his burning flesh. All she could see was Messalina, and how she'd never see her again. 

"Locusta!" Curio shouted, launching himself at her and tackling her to the ground. She didn't feel the pain of her side smacking into the wood, or of her head slamming into the floor. 

All she could feel was the fire inside her growing into an all consuming inferno.