PART FOUR: INFINITY WAR
[poem via Pinterest]

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WAR CALL
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The missions were done.

Steve wasn't sure how he felt about that.

There was no more work to be done in tracing down the root of the black arms dealers to Spain. Now that he and Sadie along with Sam and Natasha had practically razed the factory to the ground, Steve had few doubts the threats would pop up again. Although, he'd thought it was all over after Jersey, and it wasn't.

But Jersey was so far away, figuratively and literally. So far from the sandy beaches of Barcelona, the glorious heat of it all and the sense of accomplishment the team felt.

As they should, of course- this was a time for celebration. But Steve still felt uneasy. What would they do now, when Sadie had made it so clear that she didn't want to stop moving? He had spent most of their time apart dreaming that once he had her again, Steve could stop running. Find a safe house, be home with her...

He couldn't blame Sadie for wanting stability before they took that plunge, though. This was one of the few cases she was far more responsible than he was. Regardless, he wished things were different.

"Only you could look so miserable on the beach," Sadie's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as she stood above him, her hands on her hips. "You won't come in the water?"

"I want to soak up the sun before it sets," Steve lied. Well, half-lied. The sun was getting quite low. "You can go swim, though."

"Nah, I wanna sit with you," she grinned, settling herself down on the sand beside him, and kissing his cheek.

Steve found himself leaning into Sadie's touch, as always, but she was already laying on her back, propped up on her elbows. She looked more relaxed than he'd seen her since Vegas, even if she had soaked one of his shirts with seawater, as opposed to buying one of the 'unflattering' swimsuits at the gift shop.

Steve tried not to cringe as he noticed the sand sticking to the material- they mostly washed their clothes by hand on the road, and something told him it would take a while to get the sand out.

This life of theirs certainly wasn't glamorous, and it certainly wasn't what Sadie deserved, or what he wanted to give her. But Steve was selfishly happy to be by her side.

"Did you know most of the beaches in Barcelona are man-made?" Sadie asked, peering at him through her sunglasses. "Even this one."

"Really?" Steve asked, running his hand through the sand. "So all of this was imported?"

"Yup," she nodded, the smile on her face contagious, as it always was when she had knowledge to share. "I learned that from National Geographic."

"I wonder where they get all the sand from," he mused, curiously, and Sadie's face fell.

"They left that part out," Sadie pouted, making him laugh. "My guess is either the desert or other beaches. But desert sand is different. So probably another beach."

"That doesn't sound like a great solution," Steve said, leaning back to mirror her lounging posture. "Beaches are there for a reason, they protect the land from the ocean. Without them, the land will wear away."

"They probably only take a portion," Sadie hummed. Steve found that hard to believe— humanity could be greedy.

"Even half is a problem," he shrugged. "You need a united front. If portions of the defence are missing, the ocean wins."

"It's not a battle," she reminded him, softly.

Sadie Moore had a certain way of looking at people, that made them feel like they were under her microscope. Not under scrutiny, there was no judgement in her eyes. It was just that she could see every little part of a person.

Or perhaps Steve only felt that way because she knew him so well. He let his eyes close, the sun still bright behind his eyelids as he pulled her close.

"Where d'you want to go next?" he asked, keeping his voice positive. They weren't displaced, he reminded himself. They were free.

"Where do the others want to go?"

"Doesn't matter," Steve said, honestly. "Nat picked Tennessee. Sam picked Vegas. It's your turn now."

"Didn't you want to visit Bucky?" Sadie asked, and Steve raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

"It's your turn, I'll wait mine," he repeated, simply. "We'll go where you want to go, not where I want to go."

"What if I want to go where you want to go?" she asked, leaning into him. "You're always saying he's like a brother to you, and well... you know my family."

"Every time I meet your sister it's because something's gone wrong," Steve reminded her, with a laugh.        

"And everytime I've met Bucky, it's been in the middle of a fight," Sadie said, with a raised eyebrow. "So I guess we're even."

"You sure you don't have anywhere on the bucket list?"

"We have plenty of time, don't we?" she shrugged, casually, but he could tell she was doing it for him. "Plus Wakanda seemed pretty cool in your letter."

"You'll love it there," Steve smiled, his heart warming.

He was about to kiss her then, but he was interrupted by a buzzing the back pocket of his shorts- his burner phone. But who was calling? Sadie seemed just as curious as she gestured for him to answer, so he opened up the flip phone to see who was on the phone.

Steve's stomach lurched to see the name. Tony Stark.

"Who is it?" Sadie asked him, but Steve only showed her the screen, and watched her eyebrows raise. "Are you going to answer?"

"I don't..."

What was he supposed to say? He didn't know that Tony had accepted his apology- the phone call could set them all up for capture, Sadie included. But if Steve ignored the call, and Tony truly needed him, then their chances of rebuilding a friendship were slim to none.

He didn't notice it was on the last ring until Sadie took the phone and answered just in time.

"Hello, Tony?" she spoke cheerfully, but her expression was just as strained as his. "How are-"

Without thinking, Steve snatched the phone out of Sadie's hand and hung up, his heart racing, and his mind coming up with every worst case scenario.

"Stay quiet," he said, firmly. "They don't know you're with me, you'll incriminate yourself."

"It's a little late for that. And it didn't look like you were going to answer yourself," Sadie said, as she shook out her wrist. Before he could apologise, she spoke up again, reading his thought. "You didn't hurt me, don't worry. You know I can take rougher than that."

Steve shook his head, but her smile was contagious, until the device rang again. Somehow it sounded even louder in his ears.

Regardless of his paranoia, Steve pulled himself together and answered, but he didn't give the standard greeting, just in case.

There was a long moment of silence before the person on the other end of the line spoke. When he did, Steve didn't know whether to relax or panic more. He put it on loudspeaker before Sadie could ask and give herself away again.

"Uh, hello?" the familiar voice asked. "Not Tony, sorry. I'm looking for Cap?"

"Banner," Steve said, with surprise. "Long time."

"Oh, Cap! Good, I got you," Bruce sighed, with some relief. "I was worried for a second. Who answered the first time?"

"You must've called the wrong number," Steve said, simply. "It's just me."

He could feel Sadie's disapproval, but to his relief, she didn't ruin their cover. If she was upset, he'd apologise, but he would do the same again if it kept her safe. It wasn't that Steve distrusted Bruce; quite the opposite.

But some things he just couldn't risk.

"There's only one number in this phone," Bruce said, and Steve glanced to where Sadie sat beside him.

"Tell him it's me," she was mouthing, waving her hands in frustration.

"What do you need?" Steve asked Bruce, before covering the mic and whispering back to her: "Not yet."

"We've got a threat on the way. Massive threat on the way," Bruce answered— the call was grainy, but the panic in his voice cut through just fine. "I don't know what happened between you and Tony, and I don't care for details. As long as you and the others get back to New York ASAP. And bring Vision."    

Any reservations Steve may have had were set aside in an instant. He didn't have to wonder about motives any more, they were perfectly clear, now.

This was a war call.

"What can you tell me?" Steve asked, all too aware of the implications of phone calls, even on burners.

"All of it," Bruce said. "I've been away- it's a long story but all you need to know is that when it happened I was with Thor, and the Asgardian refugees."

That last part sounded like an oxymoron, but Steve didn't interrupt, and neither did Sadie. She didn't seem so eager to converse as Bruce told his tale, and he couldn't blame her.

This Titan- Thanos- wanted to wipe out half the population. Steve couldn't let that happen.

"Heimdall got me out of there," Bruce finished. "He brought me to New York and- this sounds crazy, but there was a wizard Tony and I met. He helped fight off Thanos' goons, his name was strange."

"What was it?" Steve asked, obliviously.

"It was literally Strange. Doctor Stephen Strange."

"We know him," Sadie piped up then, and he didn't bother to argue with her. Steve wouldn't stop her getting the answers he'd been unable to provide. "What was he like- blue eyes, dark hair, scarred hands?"

"He matched that description, yes," Bruce said, confusion in his voice.

"That's Doctor Moore," Steve said, by way of explanation. Bruce had missed a lot, and there wasn't time to fill him in on their personal lives. "Where are Tony and Strange now?"

"Missing," Bruce explained. "And Thor can't have survived. We're the only ones who can fight this."

The biggest threat of their lives, and the team was split. That could have been prevented. Now the planet was just as vulnerable as a beach with half the sand.

For a moment, Steve couldn't pull his thoughts away from Thor. His mind went bizarrely to a conversation from years ago, when the Asgardian had joked that he'd hate nothing more than a 'mundane death.' Thor Odinson had promised that when he went, he'd go as a warrior.

Steve had never known him to break his word.

And at the time, he had been inclined to agree with the god. But things had changed for Steve since then, and now a warrior's death never looked as glorious as it had. Looking at Sadie, he was certain he'd choose the mundane. Glory wasn't worth leaving her.

"You've tried every way of tracking Tony down?" Steve asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

"I'll keep working on it," Bruce said, and Steve glanced over to Sadie. He hadn't noticed her stand, but she was pacing almost a meter away. "Hopefully by the time you guys are back, I'll have some answers. But remember, Thanos' people will be looking for Vision too."

"We're on our way," Steve said, shaking off sand as he stood. Sam and Nat were still swimming in the distance, blissfully unaware, and he was going to have to ruin it. "See if you can track Strange, too."

"I'll try, don't worry about it," Bruce said, hastily. "Just hurry. The universe depends on it."

~

Stephen is not a wizard, Sadie thought to herself, for the millionth time that day.

She knew she needed to focus, but it was hard to keep her friend out of her mind after Bruce's story. The small piece of news she'd heard was a blessing and a curse. She had begun to assume the worse after Stephen disappeared east, and... well, perhaps she could believe it.

Perhaps the surgeon had taken up new hobbies after losing surgery, but this sounded like more than that, especially if he was fighting off aliens alongside Iron Man.

The Stephen Strange she knew, and the one Bruce encountered simply couldn't be the same man, and yet all the evidence pointed towards the impossible.

She glanced over to where Steve sat with Natasha in the cockpit, as the jet flew over Edinburgh. As always, he seemed to have no trouble focusing before a fight, his expression a mask of professionalism ever since he'd hung up the phone.

Good. Focus would keep him safe. If only she could find some of her own.

Sadie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Stephen is not a wizard.

"That your new mantra?" Sam said, as he sat beside her on the bench. She passed him a water bottle out of habit.

"Sorry- thinking out loud," Sadie sighed, nodding toward the liquid. "Drink. We might not get another chance."

"Your friend went to Nepal, right?" Sam asked, cracking open the bottle with ease before he drank. "Maybe he transformed. Eat, Pray, Love, or whatever."

"Or maybe it's a different guy," she suggested.

"And how many Doctor Strange's d'you think are lying around?" Sam chuckled, and she couldn't help but laugh with him.

"It's good to know he's alive at least," Sadie nodded. "Hopefully that can be confirmed once this is all over."

"'Course it will," he shrugged. "But if you wanna stay alive, you got to get everything else off your mind except this mission. They killed Thor, they could kill any of us."

"We have the element of surprise," Nat said, from across the jet. "He didn't have that. They sneaked up when he was practically unarmed."

It wasn't hard to hear the venom in Natasha's voice, and Sadie didn't fail to notice how Steve stiffened at the topic of conversation. She and Sam had hardly known Thor, but those two knew him as well as anyone on earth did.

Yet Natasha traded grief for anger, and Steve... He locked it away. Sadie had watched him do it, as he heard news of the god's death. Still, she couldn't judge him for it. At this time, they had to compartmentalise.

Focus.

"Landing near the station," Steve announced. "Think we've found our threat."

It wasn't hard to spot, Sadie didn't even have to stand to see it. The Scarlet Witch and the Vision being shot out of the sky, and falling right through glass.

~

Two versus four. The odds were in their favour.

Sadie couldn't tell who these aliens were, only that they were tall, and strong, and armed to the teeth.

There was hardly any time for a plan, but thankfully it never took much for Steve to come up with a foolproof one. The team had been dancing to this tune for long enough at that point, that their work was seamless.

Which was the reason why, when Sam dropped her onto the ground, Sadie no longer needed to roll, instead she was able to charge straight at her male opponent, as Sam sent the warrior woman flying into the glass kiosk meters away.

The alien bared his teeth at her as she disoriented him with combative blasts of her light before Natasha cut him down across his calves. Sadie didn't hesitate to knock him down then, channelling light into her quads as she round-kicked him to his knees, and Natasha impaled him with an alien spear that seemed to have come from nowhere.

CLANG.

Sadie didn't anticipate another attack until impact threw her forward- by the time she looked back Steve was already holding off the woman Sam had previously dealt with. Without thinking twice, Sadie sent a shot of light between them, but the alien quickly recovered, and soon the two of them along with Natasha were charged with fighting her off at once.

The woman was fast, but certainly nothing they couldn't handle, until Sam finally ended it by knocking her back, as she crawled to her wounded comrade's side, urging him to get up.

Sadie glanced at her watch as she panted, heart racing. The whole thing had taken little less than a minute- it had to be a record, she thought, but they could celebrate later.

"We don't wanna kill you," Natasha said, coolly. "But we will."

Sadie couldn't blame her. For all Bruce had told them Thanos' 'children' had done, she truly didn't think it would be a loss for the universe. Regardless, she wondered if having some prisoners might prove useful.

"You'll never get the chance again," the warrior spat, before pressing a panel on her metal uniform, and a beam of light carried the aliens away like a vacuum.

Sadie could only stare in astonishment as the spear in Steve's hand escaped his grip, and the light disappeared to reveal a huge alien ship above them. She felt an aggressive chill run down her spine- this was 2012 all over again.

Except this time, she had no hospital to take shelter in as she did her job. Because this was her job, now.

The frontline.

"Can you help him?" Wanda's voice sounded, as the quartet approached where she and Vision crouched beside the railing. It took a moment for Sadie to realise the woman was addressing her.

"I can try," Sadie said, as she crouched beside them, letting her hands glow. She had to put her hesitancy to heal aside- these were times in which a person had to do all they can.

But still, her light had no effect on Vision's wound, no matter how hard she tried to imagine the polymers and code rewiring. Her mimicry relied on visualisation and understanding. And as much as it pained her, Sadie couldn't visualise what she couldn't understand.

"I'm sorry," Sadie said to Vision, sitting back on her heels as her hands dimmed. "This isn't my area of expertise."

"It's alright, Doctor Moore," Vision answered. "The probability you would be able to fix this was slim to none. You did your best."

Sadie tried hard not to take his words for more than what they were.

"Can you stand?" Sam asked, before he and Wanda helped the android to his feet.

Her medical knowledge was screaming at her not to let them move him, but her reason understood why moving was vital now, so Sadie settled on biting her tongue as Vision thanked Steve.

The end of this mission felt no different to any other- physically. But it was clear to everyone as they reached the jet, that things were changing, and drastically.

This was war- and for Sadie, it was her first real war on the fighting side. In Afghanistan, she'd been able to rely on the red cross, and the laws of warfare to keep her safe from attack.

But now she was a soldier, and their opponents were more than capable of war crimes. Sadie was never more aware of her own inexperience than that moment. But she set her worry aside. It didn't matter.

She just needed to focus.

...
..
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hey everyone! long time no see! I'm really sorry I've been so slow to update, I've been dealing with major writer's block and every time I try to write this chapter I'm never happy with how it turned out. This is probably the best version though, even though it still feels a little repetitive but hopefully you enjoyed it nonetheless!

This is really just the intro to Infinity War but I wanted to get in some action too because it felt a little redundant to have everyone standing around talking about it all, and the train station scene was perfect for that. I didn't change the outcome of it too much, but Sadie will definitely have more influence on events and experiences that are different to the group going forward so it doesn't feel like you're just reading a long version of the movie, haha! That said, certain things just have to happen the way they do.

Hopefully you're all looking after yourselves amid the current pandemic and international quarantine, just remember there will be an end to this. I know for some of us it's really hard, especially financially, or when you're stuck in a toxic environment, but we're strong and we can get through this.

Please comment your thoughts!

-Amber.