CHAPTER EIGHT; INFINITY WAR

❝ When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings ❞

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ Wakanda forest ❞

THE BRIGHT YELLOW GOLDEN explosion sent Wanda flying through the air. The ground nipped at her creating instant wounds as she slowed to a stop. Dirt cascaded back down from the ground covering Wanda in a layer of it. She squinted trying to readjust her vision feeling water under her hands. Wanda pulled up her hands as her vision cleared; it was not water. Her hands were soaked in blood, "No," she pleaded with the Gods, Wanda allowed herself to painfully slowly look up.

The second she had she wished she hadn't, before her was the limp hand that had been reaching out for someone. Anyone, really. Her beautiful blue eyes had shut almost immediately after Thanos dropped her to the floor. There was no life behind her eyes that had been left open.

Wanda stilled waiting for the girl to move, do something but she never did. Her eyes were still waiting for anything when she ignored the approaching footsteps of Thanos. "I understand my child, better than anyone. She was powerful, a waste of potential," he said as if the lives he was about to take and had already taken had meant nothing to his cruel heart.

His words made Wanda's already erratic breath worsen. Her sharpened gaze slowly shifted up to him, her hand gripped at the dirt underneath it. "You could never. Alina is more than her power," she said her jaw tightening with each word spoken.

Thanos seemed to be hurtfully amused by her words as he chuckled to himself. Bent sideways he placed his giant purple hand on Wanda's head caressing it as he said, "Today I have lost more than you can know." The titan pulled away from her his eyes landing on Visions corpse, "But now is no time to mourn. No time at all." He stared at the Vision precise and selective about using the time stone only on him.

Wanda had crawled to Alina tearing the blade from her chest cradling her body in her arms. She'll wake up, she's going to wake up, Wanda told herself her eyes looking up towards the sky. As her eyes traveled back down, she finally saw Thanos putting back the final pieces of Vision. She watched helplessly as he was taken off guard and gripped up by his throat. For the first time Wanda abandoned Alina's body racing to him shouting, "NO!"

With the ease of his free hand Thanos back handed the Maximoff woman sending her soaring through the air once more. Only this time when she fell her world had turned completely to darkness. His attention never even left Vision as he struck her, and once they were all dealt with, Thanos began to tear the stone right from his head. Visions feet kicked as he tried to grab at the massive hand of the titan. But all his fighting meant just as little as all those who fought before.

With hardly little effort Thanos was able to take it from his head. And once more before Wanda's very eyes, Visions body lost all his color and became grey in an instant. Tossing him to the side no longer concerned with the android, Visions body rolled into the grass. Thanos mouth tugged into a satisfied grin as he prepared himself to take on the final stone. Thanos hovered over the back of his palm before dropping the mind stone onto the gauntlet. He groaned feeling the power of all six stones consuming his entire being.

The sounds of his shouts finally called Connor to consciousness. And as soon as he felt the trickle of light on him, it was followed almost as quickly by ringing of a bell inside his own mind. "A-Alina," he choked out his hands slipping out from under him as he tried lifting himself up. Connor tried again wiping the blood spooling from his head down to his eyes out of his face.

"Alina," he shouted out for her again as he stumbled back up to his feet. As his eyes travelled the forest floor, they found her black and blue naginata blade laying on the ground dripping with blood. The area around his heart cascaded in on itself, "LINA!" The second he started to move towards it, he found the sight of her limp body lying near a log.

Connor bolted across the forest floor sliding on his knees by her side. "Alina, come on," he pleaded with her lifting her body into his arms. The boy didn't know how late he was for her, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP HER!" Connor looked around seeing everyone had still been unconscious, and Thanos was readying himself to snap his fingers.

Nothing lingered behind Connor's blue eyes, as if the boy had nothing but an unchangeable and unmeasurable whole being forged inside him. Thanos suddenly raised the gauntlet to the sky shooting out beams of power from all five joined stones. Still holding her head on his lap Connor lifted his arm pulling the metal in the gauntlet down to the ground. The moment of vulnerability allowed the hurtling axe coming down to embed itself right in Thanos' chest.

Beyond seeing Thor land, Connor didn't care to watch Thanos any longer. His eyes trickled back down to the lifeless body of Alina Dranganov. Pulling her up Connor leaned her back against a tree kneeling in front of her. "Alina, I need you to wake up. Come on, you still got your party tomorrow Sarbina and Gwen will lose it if you don't show." His mouth turned upside down watching as the last of her blood trickled out of her chest.

"COME ON, SOMEBODY," Connor wailed a desperate cry his eyes casting a glance around himself only to see Thanos raise his palm snapping his fingers. "NO," he shouted but it had already been too late.

Connor raced to his feet joining the God who asked the titan, "What did you do? What did you do?" Before he or Thor could get an answer, the titan had raised the gauntlet opening the same lightning filled smoke portal he summoned upon arriving. It yanked him through so swift the axe embedded in his chest fell right out of him.

Looking to the God with blood on his hands and traces on his face the boy asked, "Did we just lose?" A thundering overhead made them both look to the sky and lightning started hitting the ground around them. "Is this you," Connor shouted at the God flinching from the loud clashing of electricity.

"No," Thor shouted over the sounds the world beginning to gain a dark red hue that cast its blanket all across the sky. "It must be Thanos and the stones," the God assumed the titan had come back to finish what he'd started with them.

But as Connor watched the lightning he realized; it was encircling Alina. It had forced Wanda back towards them with its sudden zaps near her. Steve, Natasha, and all the others came running to the young girl. The reoccurring strikes doubled in their speeds forcing Thor to block Wanda and the boy from the ricocheting pulses. As fast as the strikes had begun, they abruptly stopped. The sky however did not lose its shade of red for a second.

There was a thickness in the air where everyone slowly came from their spots of shelter. The smoke was thick and the world in front of them was difficult to see, the stark contrast being too much to absorb at first. Through the smoke Connor pushed Thor off him running back towards Alina who still laid dead on the ground. Before he could get close Wanda grabbed the boy by his wrist, "Wait, don't do anything."

"What," he snapped tearing his wrist from her, "We can't just leave her there."

Pointing to the young girl Wanda pieced together, "Just give it a minute," she warned him.

Before their very eyes Alina sprung upwards gasping for air feeling the area around her heart. She watched as beneath her suit the wound healed itself. Ragged breaths caught in her throat as she looked around, "What happened?" No one answered her, but the memory of what happen still was fresh in her mind. Her eyes traveled to her blade, her heart sunk, "Did I die?"

Connor was the first to rush in front of Alina, kneeling before her he gently explained, "I think you did Alina, your heart stopped." As the boy inched near his voice echoed rattling against her mind. "What is it what's wrong," Connor asked the words flowing out of him in an instant.

His hands reached out for her, but Alina swatted him away inching back from him and everyone else, "Stop shouting," Alina broke out shielding her ears.

The Stacy boy flinched back, his gaze steadily fell to Steve finding the same confused furrowed brows and eyes already watching. Natasha came inching near the girl, "Alina," she said hardly above a whisper.

Her gaze traveled back up to the assassin tears falling from her eyes, "Stay back," Alina warned them both while the bark of the tree continued on creating creases in her flesh.

Natasha stopped moving closer, tapping Connor by his shoulder, with her fingers she gestured for him to stand out of their way. Despite his own desire to refuse, Connor did as he was told for Alina's sake. He never remembered a time he saw her so scared, so fragile. Not even when he had done the unforgiveable had she appeared so disheveled. Wanting to keep the boy back, Steve pulled Connor into his embrace.

The tight grasp around him was an unfamiliar reaction Connor struggled against his tears like acid falling down his cheeks. "I'll stay right here I promise. Tell me what's wrong Alina, and you and I will fix it," Natasha said crouching down to become eye level with the girl.

Inside herself the burning thirst in her throat left a gnawing feeling for food. Her mouth watered and her eyes couldn't stop looking at the veins in Natasha's neck. The thumping beating of the assassin's heartbeat ringing out to her left Alina with the realization that it wasn't burgers or steak she craved, but the very blood in their veins. That she hadn't completed all the steps needed to survive. Alina was in a world between worlds, one of life another of death. Blood for life was the exchange being struck.

Her sobs unraveled becoming more unstable by the second, "Oh my god..." It wasn't until that very second Alina realized the price of her resurrection. All at once like a tidal wave a whole of loss formed inside her destroying everything else she possibly felt or thought she previously had; Alina forced out a guttural cry making all flinch in her wake.

Everything, and everyone was screaming, crying, the entire world, perhaps even in the far stretches of the galaxy was laced in dread. And it was consuming Alina's entire being and every thought she attempted to have. Her screams grew so loud resonating into the brains of all that heard her cry which spread out further and further till all in Wakanda heard her. "Natasha, stop her," shouted Steve who shielded his ears from the rattling in his mind. Her cries acted like a poisonous gas flaming their ear drums leaking into their minds.

Natasha did her best to fight at the wind current being created from Alina's screams. "Alina, you need to stop! You're hurting everyone," shouted Natasha as she dug her baton into the ground to keep herself still.

Alina wanted to, but she couldn't control any of it. Everything was dialed up inside her so much that she had no idea how to control it all; she'd never felt power so great before in her life and yet, she still felt as if it wasn't the end. Worse still, were the unbearable and unnoticed cries that rattled through every fiber of Alina.

Shouting back as she shook back and forth Alina said, "There's too much! There's too much!"

"T-too much what," Natasha screamed back fighting for every inch she could to get closer to the girl. The assassin reached inside her utility belt pulling out the small tube of oxygen she'd taken in case of drowning. She brought it to her mouth and the mask fused to her mouth and nose finally allowing her to take deep breaths.

"EVERYTHING," Alina wailed her eyes finally looking up her eyes glowing a bright sapphire. All she could see was the destruction that lingered around her. Connor grasped at his throat as Steve attempted to use his much smaller shield to keep them still despite their disappearing air. Even Thor struggled beneath the force of her winds. She watched as T'Challa led fleeing others to safety. In the midst of it all she saw Bucky in the distance clinging to a tree attempting to reach her.

Despite being in the hulkbuster suit Bruce still struggled to dig his feet into the ground enough to stay still. All Natasha saw was how like blood the color of her eyes was consumed and smothered in a new glow. Natasha was stunned as she was stuck simply seeing through the winds as her eyes took on a new dark red. "I JUST FEEL DEATH," cried the teenager whose body suddenly jerked upwards towards the sky.

They were all forced to watch helplessly as the blood red sky rapidly formed a vortex just above where Alina hovered. The rumbling of thunder returned along with lightning in its growing single red cloud. The edges of the cloud grew a dark shadow almost like a shield. The winds all at once came to a stop finally allowing everyone the needed air. In their moment of recovery, Natasha tore her mask off watching as all of the darken red smudge from the clouds bled into the strongest and largest strike yet.

Her eyes narrowed following the trajectory of the blast; it was coming directly for Alina. "NO," Natasha wailed running to the girl only for the strike against Alina's body expanding through every cell in her being to send her soaring.

Nearly as quickly as she'd been sent into the air Natasha came back to her feet. Before even she could reach the girl through the smoke Connor had stood to his feet running in blind. The two coughed their ways through to find the Dranganov, "Alina," Connor called out for the girl.

When they broke through the smoke, they found her standing in the middle of it all. "H-how? What was that," Connor asked as the smoke dissipated allowing, Bucky, Steve, Bruce and Thor to see Alina just as clearly.

"It wasn't lightning. It was magic," Alina answered examining her own hands radiating with red electrical currents and still she knew, she had not reached all her power.

Bucky stood in awe of the young girl who had just given her life just a moment before. There she stood, alive, unbreakable, and radiating with power. How she looked so much like her mother she would never understand. A sharp ringing pierced Alina's skull making her shout, "It's still happening," she realized feeling the drowning of death pulling her down.

"What Alina," asked Connor worriedly.

"Everything, all of them, everywhere. Everything's dying," she finally said grasping her head trying to bear the pain of her mind from splitting.

Bucky was about to speak when he felt the gun slipping out of his fingers. As his eyes fell downward, he saw the pieces of him fading away to dust, "Steve?" All eyes fell upon the winter soldier only to watch as he fell on disappearing knees vanishing to dust.

"Lina," a voice called to her. Her whole body turned around seeing the fading image of Connor vanishing before her very eyes. "Don't leave Gwen alone," Connor pleaded with her watching as pieces of himself began to fade away. The Dranganov stumbled trying to reach the boy her feet caving out from under her.

The last sight he saw as his world turn to black was Natasha catching Alina before she fell as she fought to reach him still. "Connor," she bellowed fighting against the arms keeping her upright. It was too late; Connor was gone. The boy who had been a mirror into herself and the first boy she ever liked was gone. Connor had hurt and betrayed her all over again, and the worst part was, Alina had no one to blame but herself. She had failed them. She hadn't stopped Thanos. She watched as Connor faded into nothing and she was powerless to do a single thing.

While she was being held, Alina was forced to watch as Wanda, who had been clinging to Vision's body too began to fade. Her cries echoed into a fierce scream at the sight and knowledge they had failed, they were dying, and she had died for nothing. Flashing through her mind just as clearly as the first time Alina called to mind the image of Peter crying out for someone.

As loud as her cries were, they suddenly stopped as she forced Natasha off her looking at her pendant around her neck. It did not have a glow, she pressed it waiting for him to let her see he was fine. He had done it in seconds every other time, but now there was nothing.

"Come on. Come on, spiderman, come on. Let me see you. Let me see you. Let me see you," she pleaded with her pedant squeezing it so tight it cracked under the weight of her hand. Her powers acting on whims she could no longer control, Alina's eyes were engulfed by hues of incandescent ruby and crimson.

When her eyes opened once more, she saw the shattered remains of the planet she'd left Tony on. "PETER," she began to shout her legs taking off into a sprint faster than any speed she'd ever reached before in human form. A thought that didn't faze her as she listened for the familiar sound of his heartbeat.

Second had passed when she came over the top of the hill seeing Peter clutching onto Tony for dear life. As he began to lose his footing Tony gently set the boy down. Between his sobs she heard him say, "I don't want to go. I don't want to go Mr. Stark. Alina...she's going to be so scared."

"I'm more worried about you right now kid," Tony said fighting his tears not being able to see Alina racing towards them.

Peter coughed telling him, "I-I want Alina..."

The second the words had fallen from his lips, there was strong and soft touch upon his cheeks. "I'm right here," Alina said holding onto him allowing him to be her anchor.

His eyes lit up with stars in them, "You're alive, and you found me. My miracle Alina," he said knowing he never even had a chance to use his pendant to call to her.

Alina fought her sobs attempting to heal the boy as she said, "Of course I did, who else is going to save you." The familiar sensation of warmth that came with her healing filled Peter's heart; but even he knew she could not heal what was already dead. "I'm going to save you. Watch," she swore her hands cramping doing everything she could to keep him on the same plane with her.

She ignored how the rest of him was fading, the fearful knowledge of truth in Peter's eyes. She forced herself to ignore the blood frozen fear she knew Peter felt. His bravery was for her sake, and she knew it. It broke her heart how certain she was of that truth. None of it was real, all that was real was her healing was slowing down the spell of the infinity stones. "This isn't your fault Alina," he told her as if his words were a vow Peter was making her.

"Don't. Do not tell me goodbye," she snapped at him hating every word he said knowing he was indeed right to say them. Knowing that he had to say them because he wouldn't get the chance to later. She could not accept a world where that was true. "I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to save you," she vowed understanding if she had to tell him something it would be that she wasn't giving up. That as long as she lived, hope for him would live too.

  Peter smiled, she needs to have hope, he told himself, she needed to believe she can save me, and perhaps so did he. Alina held him tightly and as Tony watched them, he saw not two young heroes, but two teenagers. Two teenagers too young, too dumb, and too in love to even see it. "I know you will, my Alina can't back away from a fight if she tried," Peter laughed as her spell weakened and his chest faded to nothing.

"You promised you'd come back to me," Alina sobbed her heart shattering under the weight of knowledge they would be parted. There was not a known force in this universe, not even Alina could fight off the stones.

Before it would disappear for good, Peter used his hand to push her hair back out of her face, "I didn't mean to break my promise." Alina felt his hand disappear from her face and he vanished from her world.

Never had Tony heard a more painful type of bellowing wails that escaped Alina as she watched him leave. She clutched herself praying for her powers to take her away from the bastardly planet. She had nothing, no one to anchor her and she was gripped and pulled back to her physical body. She hadn't even felt the same twisting of her insides she had every time before.

It wasn't until she felt her knees bending unable to hold her once more that she realized that she had returned. Her roaring weeps rattled through Natasha and Steve who attempted to catch her. But the second their hands did she was reminded of the gnawing hunger she thirst for, only this time, she hardly wanted to fight it. The only thing that stopped her was seeing their faces, so she leapt away from them.

"Don't touch me," she warned them her hands up sure to keep them back. Alina leaned herself against a tree her forced breaths between sobs causing her to struggle for air more. Even then she could notice the feeling of power clawing at her to be freed. "Get away," she shouted at them only for Natasha to still try and move closer.

The presence drawing closer made Alina turn shouting once more, "I SAID LEAVE!!" The force of her scream rippled through the air sending the two closest, along with a shocked and lingering Bruce and Thor soaring back. She didn't care to see where they landed as the image of Peter's tearful eyes played in her mind.

The tree bark crushed under her hand as she tore the branch from the tree with hardly any effort. Losing the support it offered she fell against it back to her knees. This time Thor's voice tried, "Alina, this is very dangerous and old magic you meddle with, you need to control your emotions."

His words did nothing but break something inside her, slowly Alina stood to her feet. Thor gulped watching her slowly turn to face him her eyes an even darker red than they had first been. It looked like endless nothingness hid just beneath the crimson. Or rather, as if the darkness was fighting it.

"Peter is dead, and we killed him because we failed. I killed Peter Parker. The one person I cared about most in this world died! And you think I'm not in enough control? You have no idea the level of control I have not to tear you all apart," Alina shouted her rage like a storm beginning at seas as her lips quivering while her fist balled. Thor watched as behind her the shadows that came from the forest trees and mountains found their way to her. "Take them and run. Run," Alina cautioned the God who could see the choice was not in their hands. In an instant he had scooped up a fighting Natasha and Bruce had taken Steve both flying up and away from the growing darkness.

Engulfed in red Alina watched as the shadows moved up her legs finding her hands. The more that came the easier it became to form a line out of it. She sobbed trying to keep it from falling apart but she hardly knew what this new power was let alone how to keep it at bay.

All she did know was how to release it, and there was nothing left for her to fight. Giving in to the drunken feeling the shadow power was offering her Alina let out an earth-shattering cry letting the line soar through the air. The sudden release of the power allowed Alina to finally crumble.

As she fell, she watched as the shadow struck the ground of Wakanda creating an expanding crack tearing the world apart. It kept going nearly reaching the city before it stopped. But once her power was satisfied, she was still left with the darkness consuming everything about the broken Dranganov girl. Alina could no longer be there, she didn't know where she would go, but she flew up hoping something would just put her out of her misery. That Thanos would come back to finish what he'd started. It was the end of her world as she knew it. Alina never had much, but she had Peter, and that was enough. She supposed it just made sense that the one thing in this world she loved, would be the first thing she would lose once she found something to truly love unconditionally.