Chapter Text
“Still want to spar or was that apple pie too much for you?” Shay teased as she entered the common room behind Steve.
“I think I can manage.” Steve grinned in answer, setting the extra pie on the counter, “how long do you think it’ll take Sam to find it this time?”
“About thirty seconds.” Shay said as Pippin came bounding down the hall, his tail wagging furiously as he snuffled into her waiting hand. “Good boy Pip, miss me? You’re just too big to ride with us on the bike you know, besides you nearly gave Nell a heart attack last time we took you with us.” She apologized, scritching the huge head, Pippins doleful yellow eyes looking into hers.
A moment later Sam rounded the corner, “Returned from your coffee date, have you?”
“You’re not jealous are you, chickadee?” Shay asked, punching him affectionately in the shoulder.
“Jealous? Of what? My two best friends going for coffee without me every Wednesday? No… not at all.”
“And who goes with you to karaoke on Fridays?” Shay questioned in turn.
Steve laughed loudly as they postured and pretended at outrage and betrayal.
“Incoming video from Mr. Stark, urgent.” Friday’s clipped tone interrupted.
“Accept.” Steve answered, as a palpable tension filled the room.
Tony was supposed to be taking the week off for wedding planning, they didn’t expect to see him until Monday.
A holograph materialized from the table.
“Bruce?” Shay and Steve asked simultaneously.
“Not now guys, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Tony interrupted, redirecting their attention to the wizards.
Stephen Strange and Wong explained the origin and power of the infinity stones and the Avengers struggled to wrap their minds around the truth.
The infinity stones could destroy reality itself.
Vision was in danger.
Thor was dead.
Thanos was coming.
Pip whined, snapping Steve out of his frozen expression. “I’ll take Sam and Nat.”
Nat had joined them during the briefing and now sat to one side, nodding her agreement.
“Rhodes: keep an eye on incoming threats, Friday: contact Vision and have him and Wanda ready for a quick exit-”
Rumbling beyond the holo-screen drew their attention.
Someone was screaming outside.
“Sounds like you’ve got trouble Tony, I’ll send Shay to you. Shay, take a jet out his way, it’ll be faster than your car.”
“No need,” Strange said, moving his hands in an intricate pattern and causing a portal to open just a few feet from the table, “if you’re ready that is?” he motioned her through the portal.
Sam had moved first, pulling a black backpack from a hook near the door and tossing it to Shay. “Be safe.”
Shay clipped the bag across her chest and turned to answer. Her eyes locking on Sam, Rhodes, Nat and pausing on Steve a moment longer. “Be safe.” And she stepped through the portal into the sanctum with Pippin pressed to her side. They vanished in a shower of green sparks.
A moment of wonder and the rest of the team spun into motion, gathering go bags and firing up the quinjet as Friday sent Vision the message of warning.
Outside the Greenwich sanctum, pandemonium reigned. A huge donut shaped ship had descended on a city street, wind rushing from its great engines.
Shay fell back as Strange, Stark and Wong prepared to fight. Bruce strained, trying desperately to call out the Hulk, but it wasn’t working and his shoulders slumped in shame.
“Ok. Bruce, you’re with me.” Shay’s hand wrapped around his forearm pulling him down a side street as the fight began behind them.
She tapped at a black bead on a chain around her neck, speaking rapidly to a small figure that rose from it. “Shuri, Thanos is coming, Rhodes will send you the info, we’ll need all the help we can get with this one.”
The figure nodded and dissolved as Shay pulled an extra bud from a pocket in the backpack and handed it to Bruce.
“Hulk isn’t coming Shay.”
“Then, Dr. Banner, I expect you to put some of those doctorates to work.” She smiled at him gently, her hand still on his arm. “Come on friend, we’ve got work to do.”
He stared in wonder as golden light spread from her finger tips, flickering in the dusty air. Shay followed the strands back to the street, and Bruce jogged behind her as the light led them to a group of people huddling in the alcove of a building.
“Friday, calculate a safe route out of the exclusion zone.” She raised her voice to address the group, “is anyone hurt? No? ok, follow Bruce, he’ll lead you to safety.”
Pippin whined again, his ears alert and his nose pointing down another strand of glow and Shay answered him, “I’m coming Pip. Bruce, Friday will direct you, and Rhodes is scanning cctv for more civilians, so once you’ve got these people clear, he’ll send you to the next coordinates, treat any critical injuries and get them out, ok?”
“What are you going to do?” Bruce asked, his voice pitching higher as Shay started to back away.
“Me and Pip are search and rescue, we'll find the rest.” Shay smiled brightly, and waving him on, she turned and jogged after Pippins shadowy form.
Dust soon swallowed her glowing form, leaving nothing behind but a thin strand of golden light that wrapped around his wrist.
Edinburgh,
Steve and Nat stood over the bodies of the two aliens as Sam and Wanda helped a wounded Vision to his feet.
“We’ll take these back with us,” Steve motioned for Nat to pick up the other fallen weapon, “Wanda can you destroy the ship? or at least send it into space before some fool tries to hijack it?”
Wanda nodded slowly and looked up, “yeah.”
“Be quick about it, we need to regroup, and I don’t think we’ll have much time.” Nat said, urging them on. “Thanos could be on his way at any moment.”
The upright ring of the ship hovering over Greenwich Village began once again to ascend, this time with Strange and Stark inside.
“Ms. Wilder?”
“Yes, Friday?”
Shay had followed Pippin to yet another frightened woman and her child. They’d been blocked in by a fallen beam and Shay got to work employing the expanding jack Tony had designed for her as Friday spoke in her ear.
“Spiderman is on that ship. Stark initiated my protocol to send him back down, but the kid seems to still be hanging on.”
“Patch me through.” A soft crackle followed by the laboured panicked breathing of a teen filled her ear. “Peter, Peter its me, let go. The suit will carry you.”
“But it’s so far down, Shay, I-”
“Do you trust me, Peter?” Shay asked calmly, motioning her patients away from the glass as she kicked it in.
She muted her mic for a second, speaking to the frightened mother, “ok you two can come out, Pippin here will take you to safety, just hold on to the vest, ok?”
The woman was in shock so Shay took her hand and wrapped it around the side strap of Pippin's work vest, the boy followed suit on his other side and Pippin wuffed softly before following the brilliant white light Shay sent down the street to guide him.
“I trust you.”
Peters voice was so small and Shay steeled herself against the cracking in her throat, tapping her mic on again.
“Alright Peter, close your eyes. Can you do that for me?” She poured honey into her voice, keeping it as calm and soothing as she could. “Are your eyes closed?”
“Yeah- No. Yes. I’m not looking.” Peter’s voice trembled.
“Let go.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You let go and we will catch you, I promise.”
“You can’t even fly Shay.”
“I will fly if I have to, I’m the Angel remember? Let go Peter, now.” And this time her words had the tone of a mother giving stern instruction to an unruly child.
“Ok.”
And Peter fell.
“Friday, can you land the suit right here?”
“Yes, Ms. Wilder.”
A streak of jet steam followed the rapidly falling figure. As the feet of the new suit touched down, Peter stumbled, and Shay caught him just in time to keep him from falling on his face.
“Let’s not do that again.” Came the faintly green sounding voice of Peter Parker inside the suit.
“Agreed.”
Bruce watched the scene with a stunned expression, having just followed the strand of light back to Shay. “Who-”
A voice in both their ears interrupted his question.
“Your quadrant is clear, Wilder; emergency crews have the rest under control.”
“Thanks Rhodes.” Shay chuckled at Bruce’s obvious confusion. “You’ve missed a lot, Bruce. Come on, we’ve got to get back to the compound, the team is on their way. Friday, please send a car.”
“Ms. Potts has already ordered one, ETA: 45 seconds.”
“Thank her for me.”
“Will do Ms. Wilder.”
“You’re Dr. Banner?” Peter had nearly shouted, his eyes bugging out as Shay introduced him.
“The Hulk? Yeah, well… part time.”
“No, I mean, you’re The Dr. Bruce Banner? Your work in Biochemistry is incredible not to mention quantum Physics!”
“Who are you exactly?” Bruce asked, trying to hide the blush that crept into his cheeks at Peter’s open praise.
Shay answered, pulling Peter into a side hug and giving him an affectionate nougie. “Spiderman, teen genius and a reckless punk.”
Pippin added a gruff ‘wuff’ to her words, and rested his head in the kids lap.
“Is that-?” Bruce’s voice cracked as he finally got a good look at Pippin. “That’s not a regular dog, is it?”