𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 — avengers, assemble

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 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐘. Everything was blurry and sounded as though it was submerged within deep waters, shocking her body with the ice seeping within. Emilia was sure she was drowning. Her hands were damp, she could feel it. Hair clung to her neck... cold droplets steadily rising up her sides, higher and higher like frozen fingers simply craving to bury her.

 She was certain she could hear people yelling her name. Was it Bruce? Could it have been Rhodey? 

 It took every ounce of willpower to open her eyes, to strain her body into finally cooperating. It felt like she'd been buried beneath the earth, forced to crawl from the depths of a pitiful grave. But that wasn't quite the case.

 Emilia slowly breathed through the haze swirling within her own mind. The call from Scott Lang, the feeling that had electrified her skin... and then, the explosion. Something had arrived. Something had come to put a stop to their plan of revival. They'd come moments too late, mere beats and seconds after life had been restored... but that only meant they now had a fight on their hands — a battle to ensure that their revived loved ones stayed right where they belonged.

 Emilia didn't want to think it, she truly didn't... but who else would it have been but Thanos himself? He was dead. He was dead. But there was no other cockroach that would have crawled out from beneath a boot quite like he would. There as something insatiable about the beast — he was like any other man, taking until he was satisfied.

 His dreams and plans had been thwarted, the cluster of lives he'd stolen away had been brought back... and like karma, like a plague... he must have returned with them. A warning, an omen, Emilia didn't care, all she knew was that he'd die. Somehow, some way, he would perish today.

 Perhaps it was a silly conclusion to come to, perhaps the ache at the very back of her skull only perpetuated utter nonsense... but somehow, Emilia knew her internal mutterings to be true. She knew... she knew that he'd be waiting.

 Unfortunately for them all, Emilia Clemente was seldom wrong.

 Cold and numb fingers grappled for something to cling to. They slipped against rock, a small and shallow cut dragging over her fingertip but Emilia cracked her eyes open, and soon enough, the fog within her vision cleared like an autumnal afternoon banished of it's haze.

 Water was flooding in from everywhere. Debris cocooned them like miserable little bugs ready to settle in for the winter. Bruce was there, doing his utmost to keep Rhodey from being crushed by rocks... all with just one arm.

 He met her eyes, and even Emilia could see the undisguised relief within his gaze, "Em!" He called, a groan of paint shortly following as his body was forced to lower against the substantial weight he carried, "My arm, I'm — I'm not strong enough. I need you —"

 It was like a switch had been flipped. Suddenly the revelation hit her all at once. Everybody was back. Thanos was awaiting them. They needed to go.

 As though the energy within her bloodstream was a mere cluster of soldiers standing at attention, a burst of blue jittered forth like an electrical current. It fizzled through the air, parting ways with her rigid fingers. Blue scuttled up Bruce's legs, curled around his waist and trailed the length of his good arm.

 Then, as though the rocks threatening to crush them all were nothing more than a bag of feathers, Emilia's power sent the debris high into the sky. Like an excited gaggle of little children, the remnants of blue seemed to twist and dance around the debris even as it hurtled higher... then, like a firework. BANG. The rock exploded into nothing but a smattering of dust to coat the desolate lands surrounding them.

 Rhodey was crawling towards his suit in an instant, and with the rocks untangled from his mass of sodden fur, Rocket sprang to his feet.

 He shook off a few droplets like an irritated cat forced to bathe, "Gah!" He growled, scrambling away from the ever-growing puddle, and within a flash, his grubby little paws clambered over Emilia, hoisting him to her shoulder. He very pointedly ignored the miffed look on her features, "C'mon then, wizard, get us outta here."

 "Rhodey?" Emilia called, fingertips already alighting like flares while her eyes remained entirely on Bruce who cradled his arm. Still, even with singed skin and burnt muscles, he didn't seem at all ready to scramble from their inevitable fight.

 "I've got him."

 Nothing else needed to be said; she could always count on Rhodey.

 A shuddering burst rippled from Emilia's chest, and like electricity fiddling through a wire, the garish blue lines of her suit sparked in time with her power. Tony and his need for the dramatics, she almost tutted.

 A bubble surrounded them all, four heroes ready to answer their call to action. Neither appeared hesitant, and none found their hands — or paws ​​— rattling like leaves... no, they'd set out on a mission, and they were all determined to see it through to the bitter end.

 Even with the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, Emilia paid no mind to the ground beneath her, steadily growing further and further away. 

 Debris still towered over them, but rocks and metal soon parted way like obedient ocean waves as Emilia surged forth. Then, with a hearty swallow, Emilia banished any nerves that remained. They'd either lose or win. That was it, those were the only options on the table. She'd either come out on top with Stephen Strange by her side, or once more she'd watch him vanish into the air.

 She wouldn't have the strength to stay behind this time... so it was of no matter to her anymore; Emilia would fight with every ounce of her being, and if she lost... if she lost him again... she'd follow him into the abyss she'd been craving for so very long.

 Emilia pushed onwards, and with a sudden burst of absolute speed, rocks shattered and hurtled through the sky, dust flitted down like a parade of pitiful confetti, and soon enough, Emilia and her companions were free.

 The sky was filled with corrupted smog. All clouds had swallowed dust and debris and turned a tainted grey. The once-blue canvas over the horizon was nothing more than a monochrome brume... But like the night sky, something always managed to shine through.

 There were portals. Dozens of them, each glowing amber and gold as sparks danced within the air.

 Avengers, Ravagers, Wakandans and anybody else who had decided to put up their fists were all on the ground. Weapons were held high, chins hoisted into the air as all eyes remained fixated on a figure across the way.

 There he was. Thanos... and his army.

 Emilia, in the small moment she took to survey the fight she'd soon be joining... Saw him.

 There he was, Stephen Strange, looking just the same as the day he'd left her. His cloak billowed behind him, frayed and tattered edges seemingly sniffing the air like a little hound. His robes were still layered in the russet dust of Titan, blood still clung to those stupid cheekbones of his... and somehow, even from so very high in the atmosphere, she saw those ocean eyes look her way.

 It took everything not to land by his side, to ignore the pull that seemed to boil within her gut; but the fight wasn't over yet. It hadn't even begun. Emilia wouldn't torture herself, she wouldn't stand by his side as their hands finally tangled together after five long years only to lose him in the battle to come.

 She'd rather wait just that little bit longer, just to spare another shockwave of heartache.

 So, instead, Emilia settled herself and the companions encased within her powers right by Tony Stark's side. In a row were the remaining Avengers all lined up and ready. Tony, Steve and Thor were already marred with blood and dirt... yet still, they stood tall, almost regal.

 Emilia's feet dug into the ground as Tony seized the chance to bump her side with his metal-encased elbow. She knew beneath his helmet there had to be a grin on his lips, even if his blood was thrumming at the prospect of danger.

 Steve Rogers tightened his fingers around the shoddy piece of his shield that remained; just half of those blue and white stripes were left behind.

 He sucked in a breath, "Avengers!" His voice carried over such a vast expanse that everyone seemed to stand at the ready, all awaiting the soldier's final order. Even Mjolnir hurtled his way, ready to be of assistance as it lingered within his hold.

 Then it came, "Assemble."

 Emilia had grown used to fighting by Tony's side. With every blast from Stark's palms soon came a jitter of powder blue from the tips of her fingers. Rocks and debris were taken into her hold, some crushed into condensed pieces that shot forth like bullets, while others were left to loom overhead like a miserable omen.

 None passed them by. Any enemy spotted through Tony's tech was soon obliterated, and such a massacre only increased tenfold when somebody else joined their little team.

 Pepper Potts.

 Emilia could have stood there for a millennium watching as the Starks tore up the skies with bursts of refined energy. She could have very patiently perched upon a rock as the married couple held their own entirely alone...

 Pepper had shot through the sky in a deep royal-blue blur, and as ever, she'd been scolding her husband. Fondness still clung to her voice, even as she splayed her fingers wide and watched as her blasters came to life.

 Emilia soon left them to it. She ducked and weaved through the foggy battlefield. With a steady slice through the air, Emilia had sent an enemy creeping up behind Thor Odison as far away as she could manage. She sent an onslaught of jagged rocks towards one of the beastly little creatures that had been stalking towards Mantis. The woman had cheered, hands waving ever so wildly through the air at the sight of a familiar face.

 Then, as Emilia hurtled through the air with a burst of blue trailing behind her, static rang within her ears.

 "Hey Cap," It was the familiar rasp of Clint Barton calling through the comms, "What do you want me to do with this thing?"

 Emilia could very easily guess what Clint held in his hands. The energy of the stones still lingered within the air, like the aftermath of a storm. All hairs tried to stand on end, and her skin trembled. He had the gauntlet and all six of the Infinity Stones.

 Steve's voice hastened to respond, "Get those stones as far away as possible!"

 Emilia planted a finger against the little earpiece that had miraculously survived the blast and the flood she'd lived through, "No!" She had a promise to keep, a balance to maintain. The job had never been something she had ever wanted — the Sorcerer Supreme — but it had been placed upon her shoulders all the same... so for now, she'd do whatever she could to upkeep such a mantle, "We have to get them back to where they came from."

 Tony interjected, effectively halting Steve's hearty sigh, "There's no way to get them back," He flew overhead, blasting one of the creatures surrounding her just to show off. With a roll of her eyes, Emilia soon had each of the beasts writhing on the ground, struggling within her hold "Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel."

 Things just kept getting worse, didn't they? But it didn't matter whether the Quantum Tunnel was up and running or not, they had to get those stones back one way or another... even if it meant running away with them until another tunnel could be created. They just had to win the damned war first.

 Then, something clicked. Scott Lang had left his comms on and his cries throughout battle were ringing loud and clear... Didn't he come through a tunnel to get back to them?

 "Scott?" Emilia called in question, and almost praised her adept skills at ignoring the way he most definitely grinned as he echoed her title and name back through, "What about yours? The one that turned you into an old man? Is it still working?"

 "Oh!" Scott cried, his voice bellowing through the comms while Steve Rogers cut to the chase.

 "Has anyone seen an ugly brown van out there?"

 From there, Emilia could only assume the conversation had picked up in person, for all that could be heard was a dull buzz and the consistent yells and whoops from Scott Lang.

 If the van was out there, they just had to get the stones to it... Emilia cast her sights around and while limbs and bodies lay around her entirely unmoving, the rest of the battlefield was still alive and well.

 Creatures from space, beasts with far too many limbs and... Emilia scowled as she caught sight of Ebony Maw. There were too many enemies, too many distractions after the very same prize. With a great sigh that wracked her body, Emilia trudged onwards.

 Fingers jostled through the air, her arms slicing through a haze; each movement only spurred a burst of blue from her appendages. Each hit would send her enemies to the ground, howling in pain as their hearts gave out. Then another hand would rise, light sparks of gold and amber mingling like a flickering concoction as Eldritch magic supported her fight.

 Then she heard a voice; it was meek and as small as a mouse. Though she'd only heard the voice a few times before, it was impossible to forget the bright-eyed face it streamed from.

 There was Peter Parker, just ahead with blood trickling down his forehead as he took a moment to breathe. He seemingly stumbled, metal-coated hands grappling for a rock to steady himself while he muttered a string of soft curses.

 "Peter?" At Emilia's voice, Peter easily hauled himself over the rock he'd been perched against.

 "Doc — Emilia! Hey! Hi! This is crazy!" His delicate eyes were blown wide, head whipping to and fro as he watched one of the gangly beasts lurch over their heads. It was strange to see him as he was, as fresh-faced as he'd been the day they met. There was no ageing at all, not even the slightest crease to his skin or dullness in his eyes.

 He seemed to hop on his feet, body flooded with a newfound energy. His words came at breakneck speed, just as ever, "I must have passed out or something because when I woke up, your boyfriend — the wizard guy — was all like 'they need us'," His voice cracked as he tried to lower his tone, "And then he did the portal thing, with the sparks and stuff? So, wow, yeah... Hey! You look different."

 Emilia had remained silent, a slow and steady smile easily spreading over her lips. It was difficult not to feel even a spark of contagious joy when Peter was near. His absolute curiosity and zest for everything around him seemed to pull people in.

 But he thought he'd only had a nap. He thought that no time at all had passed... Stephen hadn't even wasted a second to explain.

 "Pete —" Emilia's brows cinched together, a gentle hand atop his shoulder, "It's been five years... You've been gone for five years."

 "Gone? What — What do you —"

 "Thanos won five years ago. He snapped, and you disappeared — Half the population disappeared."

 Peter seemed stunned, as though he'd never seen Quill and Drax and Mantis fade into the air right before his eyes. As though he hadn't been there to watch as Stephen's cheeks turned a grizzly grey, cracking until he was rendered as nothing more than dust on the breeze.

 He had chalked it up to his imagination, especially when he'd awoken to Stephen's careful hand shaking his shoulder. The man had helped him up yet hadn't said a clarifying word about their situation... though, as Peter surveyed the horizon... the fog and smoke, the fires that had broken out, the heroes fighting for their lives... he understood why.

 "I'm sorry," Emilia muttered, watching as his wide brown eyes narrowed into slivers. He was trying his hardest to piece things together, but Emilia knew his thoughts would soon be filled with the friends he'd left behind. He'd be left wondering if they'd vanished too, or if they'd remained whole and continued on with their lives. But they just didn't have the time to make sense of it all, "Me and Tones, we can explain it better later but —" A blast billowed from behind Peter, "We have to get the Stones to Scott's van, that's what we have to focus on, okay?"

 "Yeah," Peter nodded, eyes still glazed, "Yeah, okay."

The battlefield was raging. Smoke toppled from growing flames scattered over decaying lands. Heroes flew overhead and raced over debris and cindered bodies. Creatures with slimy limbs all with the single purpose of serving Thanos seemed to clamber about like a bull to a red flag.

 Everywhere Emilia turned, there was somebody to fight. She couldn't count just how many lives had fallen by her hands. Her sights seemed to be perpetually flooded with a tidal wave of blue, as though crashing waves were bellowing from her fingertips, sure to ravage what little was left around her.

 It was strange to see so many people fighting together; to see such vast powers and weapons coming to assist one another. Mostly, it was strange to feel it all.

 It was a mere spark in the depths of her stomach at first, a dull ache as though the air around her was making Emilia aware of everything to come. Then, when a haze of nothing but crimson erupted just ahead, Emilia felt it increase tenfold.

 It was obvious who was the cause of such a flood. It had to be Wanda.

 Surges of scarlet pulsated, wisps of red fluttering through the air like droplets of blood soon to splatter upon the ground... Emilia could hear Thanos' cries.

 But then, when everyone was sure to feel some semblance of relief to see one of their strongest pitted against their toughest enemy... that was when a downpour came.

 Emilia raced, she pushed herself from the ground, watching as blue tittered beneath her... yet it came too late. Had Emilia and Wanda stood side by side, there couldn't have been a chance that Thanos would have sucked in another breath... but when he did, when he managed to tear his lips apart even amidst Wanda's onslaught, the sky turned orange.

 The earth rattled. Dirt and dust were torn from the ground in heaps.

 From above, Thanos' ship rained fire. The blasts were uncaring of their target. While Emilia could hear the cries of her companions as their hands scrambled through the dirt, as their skin and bones were torn apart by flames... she could hear the shrieks of Thanos' men too. The ravaging little beasts he'd summoned seemed to scramble like roaches amidst the assault.

 It was like an onslaught of fireworks... Emilia blinked as dirt sprayed in her face, her cheeks covered in soil and dust.

 Only when someone pulled her back, did she tear her eyes away.

 "I expected more from the Sorcerer Supreme." Wong's low tone wasn't something Emilia would ever forget, and as she turned... there he was. His face was grim, and yet still a hint of amusement at his own jab ticked at his lips, "Do you want to get hit?"

 "You're —" Emilia swallowed. She hadn't seen him in so long. He'd always been the person to provide a shoulder to lean against, the person she'd turn to for advice and guidance... he'd never steered her down a wrong path. Without him, Emilia had second-guessed every choice she'd ever made.

 "Alive?" Wong finished, hands heaving through the air. Within a beat, a Tao Mandala shield sparked to life. It covered the sky, flitting through the fog surrounding them. Other sorcerers joined, willing their own powers onwards to build the shield and provide sanctuary to their fellow heroes.

 Emilia didn't know what to say. Even as the earth erupted around her, even as dirt and rocks were spat at her flesh... All she seemed capable of was staring in silence, eyes watering without a word.

 "Go on then," Wong almost ordered, his chin jutting out. The ship high above had paused in its relentless attack, all cannons steadily facing the curtain of clouds hung within the sky. But it wasn't the time to question what, or who, the ship had turned to target, "Go."

 Emilia almost felt as though she was right back within Kamar-Taj. As though Wong was towering over a table stacked with old books, telling her to run along for a training session with the Ancient One. He always held a tone of finality, of power.

 He'd addressed her by her stand-in title; the Sorcerer Supreme. The title Emilia had never wanted and yet accepted merely because she had the power to do the job, the power to help people. Now, with Wong and — and Stephen back... the title would soon fall upon one of their shoulders.

 The blasts had utterly ravaged the battlefield. Craters were dotted about, filled to the brim with fallen Chitauri and injured fighters, but there, in the sky, was somebody who would help them change the tide of the battle itself. Carol Danvers.

 There she was, surrounded by that same golden glow Emilia had been blinded with upon the day of their rescue. She'd almost come to loathe the sight... but now, with Wong behind her fighting off a Chitauri, with Peter in the arms of Tony Stark, and with Stephen somewhere upon the landscape with a beating heart... Emilia couldn't help but grin at the sight of her.

 It was strange to feel a sense of hope as she gazed at the sky, watching as Carol dove straight through the belly of the ship in a shimmering glaze of gold. Carol Danvers had, much to her credit, tried so very hard to speak with Emilia, to try and ignite a sense of hope... it hadn't worked.

 Instead, Emilia had turned her regard and left the woman alone in complete silence. That's how it'd been for quite some time after the Snap. Everyone was left to breathe alone, to wallow alone while Emilia trudged away. She'd lost people, and Emilia had tried so very hard to keep herself from losing anybody else.

 She regretted it immensely. For the love and light that Tony, Morgan, Pepper and Rhodey had brought to life... Emilia couldn't find even a hint of regret that came with letting them in. But grief was like that, it pulled you back, halted your movements... it made you numb and uncaring.

 She had just been sure that it hadn't made her cruel.

 Hunks of metal fell from the sky, each one alight with a flame that Carol had left within her wake. Broken pipes and sizzling wires all tumbled and tumbled until they plunged into the lake that had once stood as pretty as a picture beside the compound... Now the water sloshed, dirt below was disturbed and tangled with formerly clear ripples.

 Then, the biggest part of the destroyed ship came crashing through the sky like a falling star. It landed right atop the thin sliver of earth still keeping the tide at bay. Like furious ocean waves beneath a heavy storm, the water of the lake fled from the ship and crashed through the dam. Water spilled and flooded the decrepit land... until...

 "Stephen," Emilia whispered to herself, feet unknowingly moving beneath her. There he was, perched high atop a rock while his cloak rippled behind him ever so dutifully. His hands mingled with the air, intricate movements pulling the scars on his fingers taut. A stream of golden embers fled his flesh and curled within the water, keeping it at bay.

 But they needed him to fight on the battlefield; they couldn't afford to have one of their strongest keeping back a flood from swallowing them all.

 In Emilia's haste to reach him, her heart doing far more thinking than her brain, she soon bumped into another ally. With twitching fingers, she soon steadied the poor person she'd almost knocked over... Wanda.

 "I'm —" Emilia almost apologised, but then an idea came to her, "Actually, would you help me?"

 Wanda's accent was thick, and her dark brows furrowed upon her bronze skin, "Help you?"

 But all it took was for Wanda's molten-brown eyes to follow Emilia's sights. They landed upon the tidal wave kept back by strings of amber; Wanda had seen them both scuttling around the warzone, she'd seen whips of sparks and shields that glowed so very bright from Stephen's rattling hands. She'd seen shuddering bursts of blue echoing from Emilia's chest, fingertips and anywhere else they could escape. The world seemed to move to Emilia's accord.

 "You want to block it?" Wanda questioned, boots already trudging through the soil as the pair moved forth.

 It'd take nothing more than a snap of their fingers to hoist the dirt beneath their feet higher and higher until a wall kept the water away. Emilia could have easily commanded metal and rocks to cluster together, but with Wanda by her side, it'd be a cinch.

 Emilia hummed, a mere buzz at the tip of her tongue... and with that, their hands rose in time. A burst of blue and red collided; shimmering, contradicting and yet as one the meddling cloud swept forth. While tremors of scarlet tittered through the air, billowing tendrils of blue skittered forth like unruly electricity. It was a sight to see, a path before them glowing with unimaginable strength.

 The earth shook once more as rocks were disentombed within the soil beneath their feet. Scraps of metal from the destroyed ship were forced to obey their wishes; it took no words from the women to send each item forth. They stacked upon one another, and with a sharp tug of her fingers, Emilia forced the sodden dirt to rise higher and higher. Slurry embedded itself between the rocks like cement, glueing each piece together like a puzzle.

 A beat passed as blue and red fizzled out of sight.

 The dam was unmoving. Not a single trickle of water managed to weasel through, and even the rippling waves of the lake were forced to stay within the cage that had been crafted.

 Stephen ever so carefully dropped his hold. One by one the amber strings left the puppet he'd been keeping upright, and gradually, the water within his clutches trickled back into the constructed basin.

 He blinked, and the short bob of his throat was evident. There was something akin to fear buried within his stomach... though mainly, it was the guilt eating him alive. Guilt for so many different things — things that had passed, and things that were still yet to come.

 Leaving her behind to live through five years of grief would have been at the top of his list had he not known exactly what was soon to come. Stephen wished he could have done more, truly, he did... but words couldn't be spoken about the future, for if he had warned her... his life would have fallen once more, all while coddled by her unbeating heart.

 If he had warned her, Emilia would trade places. That was who she was, who he'd always known her to be. It was like she counted her days, and was always waiting to sacrifice herself for somebody else. His heart wouldn't have been able to take it. So Stephen Strange had done what people had always expected of him; he'd been selfish, and he'd proven to be the man everyone had always thought him to be.

 He crafted things so meticulously... and he knew Emilia would hate him if she found out that things could have played out differently.

 Emilia waited and waited for him to face her and, if anything, she was growing rather furious with him. Why was he the one struggling to look her in the eyes? It had been nothing more than a few moments for him. Just fickle little seconds since he'd last seen her.

 It had been five long and gruelling years for Emilia, and even if she and Stephen made it out at the end of the day... she would always be grieving. For time lost, for those that had been taken to save everyone else. She'd always grieve the person she had once been because so much had changed. She had changed.

 There were slow steps behind her, the quiet crunch of boots against soil and stone... Wanda had taken a single look between them and vanished.

 Emilia had thought that when she would finally look at his face closely, when she finally got to see those cerulean eyes again, to see those sharp as a blade cheekbones, that stupid goatee she'd carved so many years ago... Emilia thought she'd cry. Perhaps scream at him. Maybe, if he was lucky enough, plant a kiss on the lips she'd forgotten.

 But now, as Stephen faced her... she just stared.

 Emilia had almost forgotten what he'd looked like. It was easy enough to point out the obvious; the features that made him so recognisable... but she'd truly forgotten his face, his being, his touch.

 Like that, all hope left her once again... because what if they failed again and Stephen was pried from her desperate fingertips once again?

 "Ooh, five years apart and you start with the cold shoulder? Em, you are mean."

 Tony Stark really did have a knack for appearing at the most inopportune times, didn't he?

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DATE: 13-03-2023

:･ﾟ★ STEPHEN IS BACK. I REPEAT: STEPHEN IS BACK! Also, i had so many team-ups i wanted to include in this chapter, but for the sake of moving the story onwards and keeping on track, i had Em reunite with Peter and Wong, had the little team-up with the Starks, and the little team-up with Wanda... pls remember, i HAVE recast wanda to actually be Romani, (recast details are in the first chap if you need a refresher) thank yew <3

(sign-off gif is back to COLOUR. REJOICE!)

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