Frostbite

Thirteen

My earpiece crackled suddenly, making me wince from the noise.

"Hey, Cap, you read me?" a voice said. We both froze, recognizing the voice. Oh god.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" A beat passed and he said, "On your left."

A portal opened behind us as we whirled around to find him. T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri stepped out and I gasped, my hand flying over my mouth. It had worked. It had actually worked. Steve sighed in relief at the sight and T'Challa nodded confidently with a smile.

Sam soared through behind them, entering the battlefield gracefully. I grinned as he passed by us. Dozens of portals formed around us, opening to various parts of the universe.

My eye caught a flash of magic and I locked gazes with Stephen. The grin widened, if that were even possible, and he gave an encouraging nod as he and his companions left Titan behind. Peter swung out last and I breathed in relief. Tony had done this for him after all.

"We did it," I laughed to Steve, peering up at his face. His expression mirrored mine, and he squeezed my hand happily.

"We did."

T'Challa began chanting a war cry, his army marching through the enormous portals behind him. The Asgardians came through next, small in number, but determined to avenge their fallen people. All the Masters of the Mystic Arts filed out from Tokyo, London, and Nepal. Several ships from space came floating through, probably associated with Rocket and his family.

Bucky and Groot finally came through one of the Wakandan portals. He came up to Steve and they clasped arms, Steve's face truly lighting up at the sight of his best friend.

"It ain't the end of the line yet, pal," he greeted him, to which Steve chuckled, "Hope he hasn't made you too miserable these last few years, Melanie. I know how good he is at moping."

I laughed, shaking my head in amusement. Wanda flew out behind them and landed next to me, offering a small smile to me. My lips quivered, and I flung myself at her. We broke apart, and I grinned wickedly to her.

"I've missed you so much. You ready to give him hell?"

"Oh, you have no idea," she replied, her voice scary dark. I nodded, looking around at the army around us. That's when I noticed Pepper land next to Tony, wearing the purple and silver iron suit that Tony had designed for her for their anniversary. No one had been left out of this fight.

The compound crumbled even more as a giant Scott emerged from underneath the rubble. Bruce, Rhodey, and Rocket all jumped from his hand to join us. Everyone took up their battle positions, ready to tear the enemy apart. I bumped my fists together, the blue mandalas forming there. Thanos stared at our growing numbers, clearly in shock at the turn of events.

"AVENGERS-" Steve shouted, summoning Mjolnir to his hand, "-assemble."

Thor let out a battle cry, followed by T'Challa. Everyone joined in and we charged Thanos' army confidently. Thanos pointed his sword forward, silently commanding his own army forward as well. The distance closed between us until we all collided violently.

Enemy after enemy dropped as I sliced and whirled with the mandala discs. I lost sight of Steve but didn't stress too much about it. He'd call through comms if he needed me. A blow to the back threw me forward unexpectedly, and I rolled, sliding through the dirt as I caught myself.

Facing me was the same lanky alien I'd killed in Wakanda. I grinned at him as I stood once again, both of us circling each other. He towered over me, but it didn't daunt me in the slightest.

"You don't know it, but I killed you once. You really wanna go through that again?" I asked sweetly. He didn't even fathom a response as he lunged suddenly, jabbing at my shoulder with his spear.

I dodged it, whirling in a circle and slashing out with the discs in my hands. He maneuvered around them, thrusting forward again. I blocked it but stumbled back from the impact. He didn't hesitate to lash out again, forcing me back.

I flicked my fingers, dissipating the discs. Instead, dozens of shards went flying his way. He didn't have time to dodge, so several of them nicked his skin, making him hiss angrily. A blue whip wrapped around his legs, and I yanked him to the ground, acting before he could move. A frozen spike shot from the Earth, piercing through his torso. He cried out in pain, but quickly faded away.

As I turned away, Sam dropped in front of me. The trident of Poseidon was in his hand. Ah- at least it had been someone on our side to pick it up.

"I think you lost this," he smirked. The corners of my lips twitched, and I reached out to take it from him. It had disappeared as we had fought Thanos earlier.

"Thanks, Sam." I patted his shoulder before he launched himself back into the air.

"No problem!"

The kills seemed to blur together as I pushed forward. It was easy to fall into a pattern in a fight like this. It also made it easy to be taken by surprise when you did.

An enormous beast, three times the size of the outriders, charged at me as I rounded a pile of rocks. There wasn't enough time for me to move out of the way, and it knocked me onto my back. Its head lunged for my neck, and I jammed my trident up, trying to stab it in the neck. It hit its mark, but the damn thing roared in agony and swatted me with its paw.

I was tossed into the pile of rocks, pieces crumbling around me from the impact. For a moment my vision blurred, and I felt the thudding of its feet as it approached to finish the job. I gritted my teeth and tried to push myself up before it could.

Gunfire sounded next to me, bullets embedding themselves into the creature's skin. Bucky methodically circled the thing to bring its attention off of me. I didn't waste the opportunity he had provided.

It turned on him, and I quickly grabbed my trident from the ground, aiming at its chest. A beam of cold energy shot forth, hitting the beast as I intended. It stopped moving as it froze over, now just an ugly statue.

I glanced at Bucky with an appreciative nod, "Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it," he replied, tossing his head in annoyance. It had to be the hair. I smirked at him, digging in my pocket for an extra hair tie. Even if I didn't use them often, I was always sure to have them just in case. He took it from me gratefully, putting half of his hair up in a bun.

"Never thought I'd be thanking a woman for lending me one of these, but here we are," he mused with a chuckle. I snorted at that.

"Don't mention it."