CHAPTER FOUR; INFINITY WAR

❝ knowledge is power, but it is also a curse ❞

MAY 31ST, 2018

{ Alina Dranganov's 17th birthday }

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ quinjet ❞

"YOU TWO CAN STILL GO BACK TO THE CITY. Protect the people you care about there," Steve offered the two teenagers knowing they didn't have much time left before they arrived in Wakanda.

Alina scoffed at the very thought, "Oh, you mean people like everyone on this plane? I am more helpful to the others from here."

His eyes and Natasha's fell to Connor who agreed, "I'm not leaving here without Alina." The brunette sent him a sad, but thankful smile his way. Connor returned it as he said, "And like she said, we are more helpful being here than hovering over them."

The two adults shared a contemplating look before Natasha said, "Okay. Alina, you're going to stay with Vision and Wanda. We don't know how strong the stone will be so better more than less." Turning to the boy she added, "And you will stay with Steve or me. What are your abilities again?"

"Uh, I'm really good with knives," Connor summed it up. It was easy to feign confidence in front of people he hated or hardly knew, but them? They were the avengers; how could he be cool? Knowing there was more to it and seeing their waiting faces Alina nudged him by his arm. "And I can bend metal, any kind really. Make it into whatever I wanted, manipulate it anyway I need to. I can sense any kind of technology, alien included, apparently, even if it's deeply hidden and know pretty much exactly what it is. Most times, sometimes things are just too unfamiliar. I can even enhance it."

"He can also make himself and things hidden. Concealment, near invisibility," reminded Alina.

Pointing back at her he agreed, "I do have that as well."

Steve spoke up telling the young Stacy boy, "Okay, then you're going to focus on their ships, armor, anything metal you can break, or any tech you can fry, do it." The two teens nodded understanding their assignments.

Just as Natasha and Steve turned to walk away Connor curiously looked to Alina silently asking what he needed to know. She nodded confirming it was okay to ask uncertainly, "Um, Cap?" The soldier turned awaiting his next question, "You are probably going to say no, but, does this make us Avengers?"

"Alina already is," said Natasha forcing the boy to stare at her wide eye for not mentioning it.

"Technically. Never announced and I never officially signed up but it's not like I run from helping them when they ask," explained Alina knowing despite how they felt, the world largely knew something very different.

Steve, who was even relucent to call even Alina one given her age, could not deny the sacrifice he was making. When he was trying to enlist, he was not much older than either of them. Steve slowly made his way back to them and began, "But if you step out that door with us, you are. Even if we said no, the world and its threats would never see either of you as not one of us again. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes," answered Connor without question. This clarification between them all made Alina begin to wonder, had they deserved the same level of clarity?

"There's something I should tell you all," Alina announced digging her nail into the palm of her hand.

Her voice made the Romanoff assassin perk up with concern, "What is it?"

"I been having visions of what has and what will happen," she admitted waiting for the skepticism.

"What kind of visions? What did you see," asked Wanda who had been coming to get them and heard what Alina had said.

Once more the Dranganov said, "I don't think I should say what I saw."

"Why not," asked Steve.

"Because we don't know if all of you knowing what I know messes things up and sends us down a completely different path," she explained her words silencing the room. Knowing she had to give them something, Alina finished, "All I will say is, our choices have to be measured. Those visions showed me the stones, and ever since then I can't get them out of my head. It's like they're telling me something I can't understand."

Wanda was the first to say, "Then we do what you said, stick together and be careful."

Alina smiled seeing the others and their agreeing faces. "Okay, good I--" before the words could be finished they watched as her eyes became filled with blue hues glowing.

"What the hell just happened," Natasha rushed out making her way to the girl but Connor had already reached her. Just in time as well, Alina had collapsed and had nearly hit her head on the holograph monitor.

"Is she okay," Steve asked shooting off like a bullet across the room to the young girl. He kneeled beside her holding her hand as Connor cradled her head on his lap.

"I don't know, I don't know," Connor panicked his gloved hands shaking her shoulders hoping she would wake with forced movement.

Looking up at the only person whose powers were similar to Alina, Natasha demanded Wanda, "Come here and see if you can wake her up." The Maximoff did exactly that, Natasha moved out of her way allowing her to take Alina's hand. The second she had, a sharp but piercing high volume pitch erupted in her mind. "What is it? Is Alina alright?! Wanda, tell us she's fine," Natasha shouted needing to hear something.

Wanda starred the young girl up and down in amazement, "Her power, it protected her, from me."

"Why," jeered Steve just wanting the young girl to open her eyes again.

"Because her body knows she's not conscious," Wanda assumed before telling them her best understanding, "I think she's having one of those visions now."

"Okay so what do we do," snapped a desperate Connor who had become somewhat grateful for his gloves protecting him.

Regretfully she gave him the only answer she could, "We wait for her to wake up."

When Alina opened her eyes, there was nothing but an intense, but beautiful purple sky above her. In its sky was a moon that was so close to her it was easily three times the size of the moon she knew. Slowly she sat up seeing nothing bur barren lands of dark but cool to the touch rocks.

As she turned around, she saw giant pillars made of stone. What kind of stone she could only guess, it gave the familiar look of coal, but she knew, she wasn't anywhere she'd find that. She air was soft but even colder brushing against her skin moving her hair and its own will.

"Well, might as well get this over with," Alina muttered standing up dusting off her hands and suit.

The further she walked up the cliff, the clearer a woman's voice speaking became, "All my life, I dreamed of a day... a moment... when you got what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now?" As her sadly amused voice paused Alina came to see the alien in gold being circled by the much smaller woman.

Her hair was as deep red as the blood in Alina's veins and her skin was a light green. Even without technically being there, Alina could feel her anger cascading out in waves. "You kill and torture... and you call it mercy," she stated looking up at him almost laughing at him, "The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one."

Alina longed to help her, but she knew she couldn't be seen, how could she help? But she could see the woman gracefully in the face of her terror say the truth of her heart. The truth of what Thanos was a monster with no love. Alina had begun inching closer to them, she wasn't sure if she could do anything, but she knew she should be there if needed.

Suddenly, the alien who'd kept his back to her turned around tears streaming down his cheek slowly, "No," he said his voice hardly audible even with Alina's hearing. It was the way he answered her, his voice still despite the underlining heartache underneath, he was certain of his next step.

"Really? Tears," she mocked shaking her head disgusted with the man the entire galaxy had decided was her father.

The creature guiding them told the woman the truth of his tears, "They're not for him."

Alina shut her eyes knowing what was to happen, the other womans face fell flat as she glanced between the cliff and Thanos. Seeing the connection had been made in her mind, Thanos stepped towards her. She stepped away refusing him, "No. This isn't love."

"I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again. Even for you," he told her honestly. Despite his obvious cruelty and indifference for life, he was truly grieving her already.

But the fight to die, even if it was simply by her own hand was not over. The woman reached for the dagger on his belt, Alina's breath caught knowing if she succeeded, Thanos would never get the stone he needed. It would be now fault of theirs, no reason for him to seek vengeance against earth. Yet, she was fill with a profound need to stop her as she spun swiftly trying to stab herself in the heart.

It had happened so fast Alina thought she might actually do it, this nameless woman who didn't know her planet, or many of the others she was saving, was giving it all up. But the moment her blade made contact with her body; it had turned to bubbles before her.

Alina could've have sworn that when the woman looked up with her broken eyes, she was looking right at Alina. "I'm sorry, little one," Thanos stated before snatching the woman by the wrist.

Over and over, she slammed on his wrist shouting, "No!" Alina knew what this would mean, not only for the woman he was killing, but for everybody else. Despite not knowing if it would work, Alina ran for her.

She leaped through the air her hand catching the woman daggling her over the cliff. "Wha- Who," the woman questioned not having seen Alina until she grabbed on.

"Just hold on," Alina shouted trying to pull her up. Before she could, Thanos gripped Alina up by her hair inadvertently pulling the woman up with her. "HOLD ON," Alina said too focused on using her magic to keep a hold on her to fight Thanos at the same time.

Seeing exactly what she was doing and knowing the best way to stop a spell was pain, Thanos wrapped his hand around her small wrist snapping her bones. The break in her concentration forced Alina to drop her spell, "I have you just hold on," Alina pleaded.

These two beings from completely different walks of the universe who had never met, clung to each other. Neither one of them aware of just how similar their stories were to each other. Neither aware of anything other than Thanos could not get the stones, and the woman did not deserve death.

But the woman could see Thanos readying himself to use the stones on the child. She had seen enough death of children at his hands, she would not let her last sight in this world be that. "Run," she told her as Thanos pried their hands apart.

"NO," Alina wailed as Thanos dropped the enhanced girl to the ground she watched as the woman cursed Thanos' name on her way down. Alina was frozen seeing the sight of her body, but it wasn't long before Thanos had lifted her back up by her throat.

"Who are you? How did find us, child," he asked squeezing her throat so hard she could barely think. A loud crashing thunder overhead and the sky lighting up as if a star had exploded in the vortex above them. As fast as he had grabbed hold of her, Thanos had suddenly let her go vanishing before her very eyes.

The second she was released the gasping for air had her spring up only to this time feel multiple hands on her. "Let me go! Let me go," Alina shouted a small pulse of energy erupting from her shoving everyone and everything back.

All around her Wanda, Steve, Connor, and Nat were on various spots on floor. Something Alina didn't realize until Wanda lifted her hand sending the smallest swirl of her energy through her calming her mind. "You're safe, we're all right here Alina," the Sokovian woman's gentle voice said as Alina locked eyes with her. The other slowly came back to her as Wanda asked, "What happened? What did you see?"

Forgetting her warning before knowing what she had done was too important to only be known by her, Alina said, "He saw me! They didn't see me last time."

"Who saw you," Connor implored his voice allowing Alina to find him.

"T-Thanos. He has another stone I don't know which one, but he killed some woman when he got it," Alina panted her hands unintentionally reaching for the seats.

More confused now than when she first when down Natasha cross-examined, "What woman? And how do you know he saw you?"

Alina involuntarily snapped in a panicked response, "Because when he went to kill her, I tried to help her! I never tried it before the second I touched her it was like I was actually there all of a sudden. She was so scared, but she still told me to run...he saw me. He threw her off a cliff...she's still there, all alone."

"What happened to your wrist," Steve asked and for the first time Alina looked down at her wrist and could see fragments of her bone sticking out.

The Dranganov teen attempted to move it but the second she did she was engulfed in a serve pain from her movements. "Stop, stop, let us help," said Steve not wanting to see her in pain anymore.

"I'll be fine. Just give me a second," she told him taking a deep breath in preparation. In one swift motion she gripped the hand of her broken wrist snapping the bones back into their correct places. She groaned feeling her bones shift before healing itself. "See, fine," she said her voice filled with relief from the pain.

Overhead they heard Sam announcing, "Dropping to 2600, heading 0-3-0. I hope you're right about this, Cap. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to."

Connor and Wanda helped her to stand as Vision entered the section of the Quinjet. "Everything alright," he asked the tenderness from his wound being more bearable now.

"For now," answered Steve as they watched their ship approaching the line of trees.

"Are we about to die," asked Connor gesturing to the tree line.

"Not yet," said Alina watching as he braced himself in preparation only for him to see how pointless it was. Once they had made it through the saw a tall, beautiful city surrounded by nature everywhere you looked.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ wakanda landing pad ❞

The general of Wakanda, Okoye was walking with King T'Challa and a band of the King's Guard telling him, "When you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world...This is not what I imagined."

T'Challa hummed amused asking her, "And what did you imagine?"

"The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks," Okoye replied as the stopped walking watching as the quinjet landed safely.

The second the hanger door was opened, Alina and all the other occupants of the Quinjet descended the ramp. Both Connor and Alina lingered behind Natasha and Steve too busy taking everything in to listen. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something," greeted the captain as he shook hands with T'Challa.

In the corner of her eye, Alina caught Bruce bowing in front of him, "What are you doing?"

T'Challa put out his hands waving his assurances, "Uh, we don't do that here." Rhodey laughed and it was then Alina realized he'd been tricked into bowing. She shook her head as they began walking and T'Challa asked, "So how big of an assault can we expect?"

Bruce quickly caught up awkwardly telling the king, "Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault."

"How we looking," inquired Steve as they all continued walking.

Pointing to the various groups that passed them by T'Challa responded, "You will have my King's Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and--"

Cutting himself off as he saw the man in question coming their way, T'Challa allowed him to answer, "A semi-stable, 100-year-old man."

Before Alina had the chance Steve embraced his friend for a moment before he wondered, "How you been, Buck?"

Stepping back as they pulled a part he said, "Uh, not bad, for the end of the world."

"Bucky," Alina called out from behind Steve. Suddenly the winter soldier was frozen, he had not seen the young girl since Germany. Everyone watched as Barnes smiled brightly at the Dranganov assassin. "Did you miss me," she asked him as she began drawing nearer.

Holding out his arms he allowed her to hug him saying, "Of course." Allowing the two of them a moment, Steve nudged the others towards the entrance following after T'Challa. Once they pulled a part he asked, "Are you sure you want to be here?"

"There's only one person I would go after, and he is literally in space. And anyone else, well I don't know where they are," Alina said steering the conversation to where she wanted it to go.

Before she could he asked, "Who is in space?"

Shaking her head, she laughed off, "Doesn't matter. Point is, I had something I had to ask you." Bucky nodded more than willing to answer anything for Alina. "You told me there was a guard for you before I got there. Was her name Anastasia," Alina questioned wanting confirmation from someone she trusted.

She could see his face react to the name, "Yeah, I knew her," he admitted as if he was putting a puzzle together. "You're her daughter?"

"She talked about me," Alina returned.

Bucky nodded a small grin forming, "She never said your name, she was always afraid of them becoming more interested in you both than they already were. But she always talked about how she wanted to get her husband and come for you. Said only with him she would have the strength to get you...they took her right before you got there."

"Do you know where they took her," Alina asked him desperately.

Buckys eyes softened, regretfully he told her, "She was nice to me, every chance she got. No matter what they did to her, your mom never broke. It pissed them off, all I knew was that they sent her to another facility in Japan to be broken. When Hydra fell if she was still alive, she got out, I know it."

"How," she followed up with.

"Because all she ever talked about was escaping, there is no way an opportunity like that came and she didn't take it. Ana was one of the most resilient and kindest people I ever met," Bucky explained to her filling Alina with joy to hear someone talk about something other than the darkness that followed her family. Placing his arm on her shoulder he swore, "When this is over, and when I am a little better, we'll find her. I promise, I know I can find her."

Reaching for the hand he placed on her shoulder she said, "Thank you. Really," over his shoulder she noticed Connor reluctantly coming back on behalf of the others for her. "I have to get back to Vision. We'll talk later," she told him before walking off to join Connor.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ shur's lab ❞

Connor and Alina had just been returned by the guard to their labs. Which despite its obvious lack of equipment for containment Alina still felt hesitant to walk into any government lab. She hesitated outside the doors, Conor stopped to ask why when the answer hit him.

"Hey," he said gently grabbing her attention, "I'm right here, no one is going to cage you ever again." His words didn't remove her fear, but she knew his words were true. "You would blow the roof off this place before they got the chance," Connor added knowing even without him she would be okay.

Alina sucked in a breath before they went through the automatic doors to find Vision laying on a table, while Bruce and Shuri s stood over him, and the others watched. Shuri used the beads on her wrists to scans the stone, and for a moment studied the hologram.

In slight amazement Shuri gasped, "Whoa. The structure is polymorphic."

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially," explained Bruce.

Shuri eyed him curiously wondering, " Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?"

Staring for a moment Bruce awkwardly replied, "Because, we didn't think of it."

Smiling the young girl assured him, "I'm sure you did your best."

Alina chuckled whispering to Connor, "I like her."

"I like and their technology. You don't know this, but I can sense it all and it feels different than anything else on earth," returned Connor in a low voice feeling the technology since they had gone through the barrier.

"Can you do it," Wanda asked the young scientist.

Shuri paused before saying, "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." Looking to her brother she warned, "It will take time, brother."

Steve who kept glancing out the window spoke up asking her, "How long?"

"As long as you can give me," Shuri returned.

Before anyone else could even think, Okoye began speaking while looking at a device on her wrist that just alerted her, "Something's entered the atmosphere."

Over the comms everyone heard Sam telling them from the ground next to Bucky, "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here." Alina moved to the window watching as the defense shield around Wakanda destroy one of the vessels entering the atmosphere.

"God, I love this place," they heard Bucky say.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome," declared Rhodey looking up as what was possibly ships came flying down shaking the entire ground.

Getting off the table he was on Vision demanded, "It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now."

Turning toward Vision and away from the window Natasha demanded, "Vision, get your ass back on the table."

"We will hold them off," said T'Challa everyone in the room beginning to move.

Before leaving Steve told the two-woman staying to guard Vision, "Alina, Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head...you blow it to hell."

Alina nodded as Wanda confirmed, "We will."

Turning to Connor he confirmed, "You can enhance tech, right?" The teenager nodded, "Good, then when we get outside strength the force fields. Do whatever you can to buy them time."

Ordering everyone on his way out of the lab T'Challa said, "Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures." Before leaving he pointed at the solider, "And get this man a shield."

Before he would leave Alina said, "Remember, if things get bad."

"I'll come find you," promised Connor offering her a gentle smile before following everyone else out and making his way to the force field.