It seems like the world was caving in on itself. "What could be wrong? Is he in danger?" Justin asks me, worry etched on his face.

"I don't know. But my dream is collapsing, I can't stop it. I should be able to make it go away and I can't." I explain. "Gabriel! If you're there please hear me!"

"I don't think he has control either, sis."

"I have to wake up. Something is happening, I can feel it." I tell him, before breaking into a run for the house. "How can I wake up?"

"Riley, I'm sorry," Justin says, and when I turn to face him, he has a needle in his hand. "It's the only way you'll wake up."

"What is that?" I question, staring down the needle. The clear liquid sends a shiver down my spine. "What will that do?"

"All you need to know is that it will wake you up. I manifested it the first time we met here for emergencies." Justin takes a step closer, so I close my eyes. "I'll make it quick."

A pinch is all I feel before a pain that feels like fire consumes me. "I love you," Justin whispers one last time.

~

I spring out of bed as soon as I am awake. Next to me, Pietro squirms in his sleep. "Pietro, wake up. Pietro." I shake him, gently at first, but then with more urgency. I slap him, hard enough to wake him.

"что происходит? (What is going on?)" He demands, grabbing my shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't think every else is though." I tell him, trying to listen for any sounds. All is quiet, which for the Avengers, is unusual. "Something is wrong with Gabriel."

"That must explain my nightmare," Pietro states, shaking his head. "Let's go see what's wrong."

Our sense of urgency increases when we here a scream. We rush out of the room, but all goes quiet again. Pietro pauses for a minute until the next one rings through our ears. "That came from Bucky's room."

"You go get Barnes, I will wake Wanda. With her awake, we can help everyone else." Pietro says, nodding to himself.

"You think this has spread across the whole tower?"

"I believe Gabriel has that much power. The strength of it, I do not know."

With that, we split up. When I reach Bucky's door, I send a spray of water onto the doorknob before turning it to ice and breaking it off. "Bucky! Bucky wake up!" I shout, rushing to his side. My dream turned bad, but for the Winter Soldier, I can't imagine the kind of nightmare he must be having to cause him to convulse with pain.

His screams sound pained. I send a small wave of water over his face and chest, hoping to calm him. Nothing helps. So, I sit next to him. It's a risk, considering the temperament he had the first time we met. He was scared then, and he's scared now.

"Bucky, it's Riley. Please, when you wake up, remember that." I take what water I have left, and throw it on his face.

Suddenly, his metal hand wraps around my wrist, the other one grabbing my leg. "What the hell-"

"Bucky, it's me. It's Riley."

"I know that, but why in the damn world did you throw water on my face?" He growls, standing up from his bed.

"Something is wrong. Gabriel is in trouble, the entire tower is plagued with nightmares. Right now, Pietro and I are the only ones awake. He went to go get Wanda while I came to get you." I explain quickly, before standing as well. "We have to find Gabriel."

"Holy shitballs. That's a lot to take in when you just wake up." He says, shaking his head. "Let's go."

When we exit his room, Pietro walks up with Wanda. "Vis won't wake up. I can't do anything to help him." Wanda tells me, her features dark from fear.

"Gabriel's room is right down here," Bucky says, leading us. We get to the door, but when I go to open it, the knob burns my hand. "What's wrong?"

"Oh hell no." I snarl before I kick the door as hard as I can. It doesn't budge, so I try again. "I can't get the door down!"

Bucky kicks it as well, and it only splinters. "Someone's got it barricaded."

I freeze the door where it's splintered, and motion for Bucky to kick it again. This time, the door snap in two. I barge into the room with a water whip at the ready.

But I'm expecting the wave of fire sent my way. I block it with a wall made of water, before rolling to the side and throwing a wave towards Isobel. "You knew it was me, even in your dream." I hear her laugh.

"Let Gabriel go," I demand, keeping my water whip at my side.

"He's my son. Not one of your teammates. He will be with me, and stay with me." Isobel snaps,  her hand around her son's neck. "You won't corrupt his mind further."

"Corrupt his mind? Look what you're doing to him right now!" Gabriel's face is soaked with sweat, and his eyelids are darker than they should be.  "Isobel, he is your son, like you said. Please think about what is best for him. Do you really think Magneto will let him have his own free will after being around us? Mystique will torture him for information, maybe even use you as leverage."

"Why would she use me as leverage? I'm helping them." Isobel questions, her eyebrow raising in confidence. "They need me."

"You may be helping them, and your son is helping us, but that doesn't lessen his love for his mother. They know that, just like we do. It's human." 

Isobel's grip on Gabriel loosens, if only slightly, and in that split second, Pietro grabs Gabriel and runs from the room. I brace myself for Isobel's rage, the fire to erupt around us, but she just stands there. Her eyes drift from my face down to her own hands, but before I can reach out to her, a bright light bursts into the room, and when it's gone, so is she.

~

(Third Person POV)

"Does somebody want to tell me what in the hell just happened?" Tony not-so-carefully sets his mug of coffee down on the table, jolting everyone from their dream state. Natasha sits with a blanket around her shoulders, seemingly the one most shaken from the situation. "Where is Gabriel?"

Bucky kicks off from leaning against the wall and places his hands on the table. "He's in the med-bay, Riley, Banner, and the twins are there with him. Last time I checked, he was in okay condition. It seems he wasn't harmed."

"It was his mother, I doubt she'd purposely harm him," Steve says. Bucky can see the gears working in his best friend's head. Before he can ask, Steve shakes his head. "Here's what we need to ask ourselves-"

"How do we kill Magneto? How did that terror get into our tower? How did we fall so far beyond in the game?" Tony snaps as he throws his mug across the room, letting the ceramic shatter against the wall. "You tell me the answers, Steve. Oh wait, you don't have any do you?"

"This isn't about killing Magneto, Stark. We need to regroup and decide what to do next." Steve stands from his seat and takes a few steps forward. Bucky shadows him, taking half the steps and eyeing the Captain's moves. "Gabriel is going to need help, we're his team."

"What we need to do is attack now. He won't expect it!"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Tony pivots to stare at Natasha dead in the eye. "Who made you the deciding vote?"

"Since when were we voting?" Sam asks, looking around the room. 

"Asgardians would have handled this threat a lot better than this." Thor scoffs and soon after his brother hits his arm. 

"Listen-" Logan starts.

"You don't get an opinion, Wolverine." 

"Stop!" Natasha yells. Everyone shuts up and gapes at the redhead. "I, for one, am going back to bed. In the morning, I'm going to polish my guns, and get ready to hear ideas for a plan. If no one is at this table when I am, then so be it. I'll make the plan and go through with it. By myself."

"I second that," Riley states as she walks through the doors. The room looks past her, to the young boy standing behind her. Now, he doesn't look like an Avenger at all. Gabriel looks like a boy needing a hug, someone who is hurt inside. "I can speak for the twins, and Gabriel, that we are all going to stay here for the night. Whatever we do, it can wait until morning."

"Well, suit yourself." Tony scoffs, shaking his head. "I'm dealing with this problem my way." 

"I will fly with you, Stark." Thor agrees. His hammer flies to his open hand from across the room, and he stands when he catches it.  "Brother?"

Loki doesn't say anything, but he stands up. Just when Riley thinks he's about to go stand beside his brother, he goes to stand behind her. "I think this means we should head to my getaway home, Odinson," Tony says.

Silently, Vision and Bruce follow them. "Vision, Bruce?" Wanda questions, her eyes going wide. 

"If something goes wrong, someone's got to save their skins," Bruce explains. "It's nothing against any of you, but he's my friend."

"I understand." Riley nods and grabs Wanda's hand as the two walk out of the room. 

~

(Riley's POV)

As I sit on my bed, my soaking wet hair dripping on my shirt, Pietro scratches my back lazily. "So, we're a team divided now." I murmur, tears welling in my eyes. "It's all my fault." 

Quickly, Pietro is in front of me, holding my face in his hands. "What were you supposed to do? Follow Tony to failure? You weren't defiant, you were thinking of Gabriel and what the team needed. "

"We're the Avengers. A team. We are supposed to stick together. This feels just like the civil war." I shake my head before laying it on his shoulder. "I just want this to be over." 

A knock on the door prompts Pietro to get up from the bed to go into the living room to answer. "What the hell do you want?" He demands, so I get up to go see who is at the door. Loki Laufeyson stands in the doorway. 

"Lady Jensen, I would like to speak to you please." He glances as Pietro before saying, "Alone."

"No way-"

"Okay." I cut Pietro off with my own answer. "Training room, now." 

As Loki turns to walk away, I place a kiss on Pietro's cheek. "I don't trust him, Роза. Please be careful and be on your guard. I know you can kick his ass if needed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, babe." I follow Loki down to the training room, and the first thing I do is wrap my hands in case I need to fight. "Alright. What do you want?"

"You need to prepare yourself, Riley Jensen. I have foreseen this battle, and I do not think you are going to like the outcome." Loki warns, raising his hands in defense. "I want you to let me cast a protection spell over you."

"You don't know the team. We can win this fight, and defeat Magneto. I don't need your protection spell, besides, how do I know it won't be something other than protection." I deny his offer but am still confused as to why he would offer in the first place. "Why would you cast a spell on me anyways? You don't even like us."

"Riley. Trust me when I say this. You will be the key to ending this war, you and you only." He explains and takes a step towards me, prompting me to take a step back. "Your power is greater than you know. I have seen you, Magneto's helmet crushed in your hands. The only thing that I cannot grasp is why you are the only one I see on the battlefield."

"Well, maybe I'm smarter than you give me credit for."

"Trust me, Lady Jensen, I think you're the smartest of them all." Loki reaches his hand out, and as soon as I feel it brush up against my face, I grab his wrist and bend it back towards him. 

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," I growl, before dropping his hand and storming out of the room. Who is he to think he can talk to me like that? He's not my friend... but yet, he's not my foe right now either.

If what he said was true, that I'm the key to winning the war, maybe I was wrong to not go with Tony. This could all be over sooner than we think. Why did Loki see me, and only me, victorious on the battlefield? Where are the other Avengers? 

For the rest of the night, I think of the prophecy that Loki foretold. I don't speak to Pietro about it, for fear that he would worry and do something irrational. The thought of losing him, of everyone, feels like ice piercing my heart. If I'm the only one who can save everyone, then why do I feel like we're still losing?