𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐍 || 𝘖𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦

THE EVACUATION HAD STARTED ALMOST A FEW MINUTES AFTER THE TEAM LANDED IN SOKOVIA. Each of them worked according to the plan Steve was coming up with on the fly. And it somehow was working with a better result than Carter would've suspected.

Wanda had stationed herself in the larger housing part of the city, using her powers to enter the civilian's minds and urge them to start leaving. Pietro had gone to the police station and alerted the authorities with "unique methods." Tony was looking for Ultron, Thor was with Banner and Nova in the retrieval of Natasha. Leaving the lonely unlikely pair of Clint and Steve to aid civilians out of the city.

Carter had set himself up on the bridge beam overlooking the endless number of cars and sea of civilians that made their way across the bridge. He'd tasked Rex and Vash to carry dozens of civilians across the river, wishing to speed up the process as fast as possible with Judge occasionally picking up a vehicle and placing them on the open road that moved through the mountains.

But he couldn't help but still feel a bit anxious as to the lack of resistance from Ultron. He expected the A.I. to put up some sort of fight. If he was anything like Tony, he would've loved to have his "plan" be bombastic, especially so if it meant killing civilians to send a message. Yet, he was nowhere to be found despite Tony still flying around the city trying to find him.

Standing from his crouch, Carter moved along the beam he stood on, waving his hand to urge the civilians to keep moving. "Steve, this line of vehicles doesn't seem to be ending. We need to get them moving, pronto," he announced. "By the time they've cleared the threshold, I'm going to be useless."

"Give it more time. Just give it a little more, Carter." The man's plea made Carter purse his lips and drop the doubt. Continuing to focus his effort on his animals who worked tirelessly to aid in thinning out the herd.

It'd only been a minute later that the sound of screams filled the air. Carter's body stiffened, turning in the direction of the sound and saw Legionnaires rising from the surface of the Earth and river, attacking anyone in their sights.

Embueing his magazines with his powers, he pulled the charging handle back before taking aim and firing. Legionnaires flew overhead, landing airstrikes on vehicles that sent people flying and cars up in flames—enabling Carter to divert Judge's attention to the flying troops, using his enlarged state to rip them in half with his claws.

He and Steve continued to work at dealing with Legionnaires who attempted to push the bridge. Rex and Vash shrunk to a normal size, putting their attention to defending the civilians the best they could.

"Steve, we need to push them back!" Carter yelled, sidestepping from a Legionnaire that tried to tackle him off the beam. Shooting it out of the sky before firing at a few more on the ground.

"Then keep firing!"

"What do you think I've been doing?"

The city began to rumble, like something coming to life. That's when the view of the Earth began to break from the mould of soil and stone, lifting into the air. Carter stared, brows tensing as his grip tightened on his rifle as the growing height between the ground and the piece of Sokovia being ripped and elevated from the surface. Structures on the edge of the broken elevated plot of land, crumbled and faced the decent.

"Do you see the beauty of it? The inevitability. You rise, only to fall." Ultron's voice amplified by the Legionnaires scattered across the city, spoke. "You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Carter looked down at the dozens of civilians still left on the plot. The fear. The desolation they were forced to face. It made Carter's stomach churn.

"Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing," Ultron said. "When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

Slinging his rifle to his back, he hopped down from the beam and landed beside Steve. "We need to get these people off this plot before altitude starts playing a factor."

"What do you have in mind?" Steve asked.

Carter let out a nervous laugh, glancing at the man before walking past and toward his two Hounds who grew to their largest forms, looking down at the man. They seemed to understand instantly, laying down on their stomach with their faces opening up into their bodies. The sight alone made Steve frown, hearing Carter speak Sokovian to the civilians, waving his hand toward the two beasts.

Surprisingly, they listened, ushering inside the two beasts until Rex and Vash's faces closed up with Judge lowering himself before sinking his claws into their bodies and lifting them. The weight of the two Hounds made Judge croak, but flap his wings faster and stronger as he slowly lifted them toward the edge before falling out of view.

More blasts from Legionnaires caused the crowd near Carter to erupt in cries, ducking for cover. Steve, who was knocked up in the air, landed on the vehicle directly to Carter's left, groaning.

"Cap, you got incoming," Tony announced comedically late.

"Incoming already came in." Carter extended a hand to the man, pulling him off the car's hood. The two flinched at the sound of an explosion from the apartment building behind. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, give Carter time to slowly get these civilians off and tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back," Steve explained. "You get killed, walk it off."

As the man said that, both Rex and Vash were placed down behind Carter. Their heavy bodies shook the ground, making Carter fully aware that their continued use would either kill him or knock him out. But with an exasperated sigh, he turned to the civilians and waved his hand. "On you go."

Continuing to usher people into the Hound's bodies, Carter's awareness of threats was abysmal. Unable to sense the incoming Legion that was flying toward him. But as it began to close the distance, its body exploded, debris landing all around him as he panted, looking up to the perpetrator responsible.

"Am I going to be saving your ass all day, Locke?" Nova questioned, lowering herself to the ground.

"This one the last few waves of civilians. Cover me."

"So, that a yes?"

"Oh, shut it."

Extending his hands toward Judge, he shot his tendrils toward the bird and attached. Groaning as he expended his last bit of energy into the bird. Nova kept herself elevated above, shooting repulsor blasts at any Legion drones that tried to interrupt him.

But when he had finished, he tore his masks off to cough up blood. Able to hear the sound of and feel the wind of Judge's wings flapping, lifting the Hounds before driving over the edge. Dropping to a knee, Carter groaned, blinking tiredly.

Nova lowered to the ground behind him, glancing over her shoulder at the man as she yelled, "Carter, are you broken?"

He waved his hand, spitting out blood. His power was diminishing and his energy was at an all-time low. Yesterday was a hard push on his body, but this was even harder. Truthfully, he knew that if he pushed himself any farther, the chance of his body shutting down would be absolute.

But hearing the cries of the remaining civilians, able to feel their fear, was enough to make warmth behind his eyes erupt. Swallowing the lump in his throat he exhaled shakily, blinking. A blinding sense of acceptance washed over him, like a warm blanket providing solace from the cold winter winds. It wasn't anything that he had felt before. It made him shiver, uncomfortable in his body to an extent. But something told him he knew what to do. Like a voice whispered in his ear urging him forward.

"Is this what you meant, Wanda? This what you meant to keep fighting?" He asked aloud, standing to his full height, staring off at the ever-expanding sky ahead of him. The elevation of the large plot seems to never falter. It may have been the lack of oxygen or an epiphany finally coming to full realization, but he felt at peace. Despite the fear eating away at every cell in his fear, he was okay with it. "Was this what you felt in your final moments, baby?"

"Carter, what are you talking about?" Nova exclaimed from behind him, shooting a Legionnaire. "Carter! Carter!"

Exhaling heavily, the man felt his lips wobble as he walked toward the edge, feet dragging one after the other. A sluggish ache fell over every limb and thought that seemed to intensify each moment. Finally standing at the edge, the wind nipping at his face and sending his hair astray, he smiled.

"All right, we're all clear here," Clint announced.

"We are not clear!" Steve replied, tossing his shield at one of the drones. "We are very not clear."

"All right, coming to you."

"Cap, I got a situation over here!" Nova's voice called out through the coms.

Glancing around, hoping to spot the APEX pilot. "What's wrong?"

"It's Carter. He's..." Her voice drifted, staring at the rapture of time and space, cutting open through reality like an open wound. Everything around them slowly began to levitate, like they were caught in a gravitational field where the basic laws were being overwritten. The broadening incision only grew larger and larger until whatever was beyond could finally be seen. And Nova felt her throat close up with fear or astonishment. "Oh, my God!"

A hand reached out and slammed its fist mere feet from where Carter elevated, golden tendrils tearing reality open with this portal from his fingertips. The beast's head peaked through, glancing around before its gaze fixated on Carter. It sniffed in his general direction, backing away as it saw Carter's trembling arms go limp at his side, the tendrils reaching from the center of his chest with his head falling slack forward.

Whatever it sensed caused it to let out an ear-piercing roar, shaking the ground itself. It climbed through the portal and swept up civilians before placing them into its chest, securing them in its ink figure with what seemed to be a hardened material surrounding them.

Rounding the corner, Steve's run faltered, Natasha stepping back at the sight of the beast. "What the hell is that?"

Wanda stopped at the sight, lips parting in shock. "Adrick." The name made the two look at her. "A beast of another world. I only know small bits from reaching into Carter's memories." She pointed to the beast that continued to pick up civilians softly. "He is a protector of Carter."

The beast turned his attention to the Avengers, glancing between them. Its body was riddled with golden spots from the civilians encased in his body. But his gaze lingered on Wanda for a moment before grabbing Carter's lifeless figure and holding him close before turning toward the ledge and leaping off.

"Nova, track it!" Natasha exclaimed, heart rising in her throat.

Nova didn't hesitate to run toward the edge before jumping. Pulling her arms flush to her sides and legs clamped together. The whistling winds caused her eardrums to pop as she saw the fast-approaching surface. But the beast showed no sign of stopping. And when it collided with the ground, it caused a sizable creator.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Nova stared down at the large cloud of smoke. Her breath caught in her throat as she quickly flew down, unbothered by the lack of vision. As a clearing came ahead, she landed on the slanted surface of the crator, her balance shifting as she slid down. Coming to a stop as she watched with wide eyes, hoping to find a clearing from the smoke and spot what was happening.

Civilians that Adrick had taken were looking around, alarmed by their new change of scenery. But at the center, a kneeling Carter Locke could be seen, motionless. Nova exhaled sharply. "No, no, no."

Sliding to her knees in front of the man, she placed her hands on his face and forced his hollowed eyes up at her. "Carter," she whispered, brushing her hand under the tears that slid down his cheeks.

Blood spilled from the corners of his lips and slowly curled into a broken smile. Inhaling sharply as he leant into her touch, a quiet whine slipping out. "Did I save them?"

Nova exhaled through her nose, blinking rapidly as she glanced up at the corner of her visor. Able to see his heartbeat slowing. The sound echoed in her ears as she finally met the man's gaze. "You did. You saved them." She brushed a hand across his cheek. "But you gotta keep yourself awake."

"I know." He nodded, weakly holding her forearm. The strength of his squeeze was minimal to non-existent. "But you need to get back up there. They need you." Sniffling, the man managed a shaky smile that should've provided reassurance but only made the girl's scald in sadness. Her bottom lip wobbled as she let out a sob, pressing her head to his shoulder. "I'll be all right."

Pulling away, Nova brushed her hands through his hair once more, staring at him for a moment before backing away. "I'll be back. Don't you dare close your eyes, all right? I'll be right back," she promised before shooting up into the sky.

Inhaling deeply, the man exhaled shakily. Nodding as he swallowed a lump, waving a hand. "I'll be waiting," he wheezed. Heavy-lidded eyes stared down at the ground as the warm tingle of tears ebbed him into a relaxed state. Smiling, he let his eyes flicker shut. He couldn't help but think that perhaps his happy ending hadn't been what happened before.

It must've been this.

Carter never considered himself a protector. At best, he knew himself to be a man of cold logic and the hardest realities that could not be deterred from their embeddedness. But it felt nice knowing that in these final moments, he got to write the script. He got to change how things would end. He had the chance to change how he would go out on his terms. The perfect ending to a long drawn-out story.

It had to be this...