Across the Universe

“Caitlyn, stay where you are!” Scarlett shouted as she ran through the chaos inside of the crater. Dirt flew to and fro no longer tethered by gravity. “I’m coming to get you!” Whirring dangerously the trap threatened to open and consume all that remained inside of the electronic barrier. Scarlett ignored the threat and continued toward the girl, crouched low to avoid any debris.

Outside of the chaos Tony and Bruce were arguing over whether or not to trigger the trap and end the confrontation. Bruce knew Scarlett would want him to do what was necessary and Tony was adamantly against it. Scarlett wouldn’t have gone past it without a backup plan!

“We only have one chance at this, Bruce! We can’t waste it while she’s still in there! You’ve got to give her a chance to talk the girl down!” Tony argued over the radio, flying around in hopes of keeping track of Scarlett inside of the barrier. Chaos had erupted. Even Jarvis couldn’t seem to make heads or tails of what was happening within the electronic net cast over the small area of Central Park. Each time he thought he’d pinpointed her heat signal, it disappeared seconds later.

“You’re making my exact point, Dr. Stark! Miss Damien knows exactly what we need to do and she expects us to do it regardless of where she is in proximity to the trap! She’s hoping to get to the girl but if she can’t we trigger it!”

“If you don’t give her a chance then how can she get to the girl?”

“What do you think we’ve been doing this whole time?”

“That was different! The machine was…”

“It is not different! She knew what we planned to do when she ran back in there!” Bruce yelled over Tony.

“Hey! Don’t interrupt me!”

“Enough you two!” Natasha snapped. Her head had finally stopped spinning. She’d had enough of their bickering. Neither was in charge and their fighting was getting them nowhere! Much to everyone’s surprise the two scientists quit their bickering and listened.

“Do you have a better idea, Miss Romanoff?” Bruce had collected himself.

“She has five minutes to take care of it. If she doesn’t come out by then I’m going to force her out. If she resists, you’ll trigger the trap regardless of where we are.” Natasha held her hand to her bloodied head and searched the electronic net. Even her keen senses had been thrown off (though it could have been the concussion).

“Nat…” Clint whispered under his breath and Natasha threw him a glance so cold that he didn’t argue any further. If it came down to it, Clint would go in Natasha’s stead. She should have been on her way to the hospital by now.

“Five minutes. That’s it.” Bruce spoke quietly over the radio and the silence that followed showed the others agreed. Each turned their gaze helplessly to the crater and wondered what was transpiring within its walls.

Scarlett hurried through the debris, dodging and leaping when necessary. Shadows made a mad attempt to grab at her and stop her in her tracks but failed. Finally she made her way to the portal and crouched in front of Caitlyn who was struggling. There were tears dripping down her cheeks and though she squirmed she was held in place by the demon. Every time she tried to take a step her body gave out and she sunk lower and lower to the ground.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Scarlett shouted over the roar of wind. Caitlyn didn’t move or respond so Scarlett grabbed her by the waist. When she lifted, shadowy tendrils came from the ground, clamped around Caitlyn and pulled her back down to the ground and out of Scarlett’s grasp.

“I can’t move!” Caitlyn stumbled, trying to pull away from the forces that kept her.

“It’s powerless without you! You have to come with me! I can carry you but you have to let go of that thing!” Scarlett knew she didn’t have much time left. Even this was taking more of a risk than she usually did. The gun weighed heavily in her holster and partially she knew what she would have to do if Caitlyn wouldn’t come with her. Would she be able to?

Yes.

Not easily though.

“No!” Caitlyn shook her head. “I can’t… I can’t!”

“Yes you can Caitlyn! You can fight him, come on! I know you’re strong enough!” Scarlett made an attempt to pull at her again but Caitlyn stopped her by placing her frail hand gently on Scarlett’s cheek. Slowly Scarlett dropped to her knees and gave up the struggle.

Clarity shone within the girl’s eyes. She knew what she was doing. There was no panic there, nothing holding her back. It wasn’t just the shadow that held her back.

Something was very wrong.

“Why won’t you let me save you?”

“I can’t. You can’t… No one can.” Caitlyn’s tears were silent. For the first time since they’d met Scarlett felt as though she was face to face with the little girl she’d learned about. It wasn’t a desperate girl, lost and afraid. This was a smart, artistic, lonely little girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“I can. You have to let me. You have to let go of this thing!”

“He’s part of me now.” Caitlyn choked on the words but somehow seemed to accept that.

“That can’t be true.”

“It is!” Caitlyn pulled her hand away from Scarlett’s cheek and choked on a sob. “I can’t watch you trying to save me anymore. Not you! Not your friends! You’re going to get killed and because of me!”

“I won’t give up on you Caitlyn.”

“You don’t even know me! You don’t have to fight so hard!” Caitlyn whimpered.

“That doesn’t matter. I won’t stop.”

“I know that.”

“Caitlyn, you just have to let go. Come with me, please.” Pleading, Scarlett had a feeling that she knew what was about to happen. Her heart felt as though in a vice, breathing labored.

“I can’t let go. It won’t let me.” Caitlyn spoke so resolutely that Scarlett finally listened. “You said something to me earlier. I get it now!”

“What’s that?”

“It’s our choices that define us! You said I was choosing to let him in and you’re right. I chose the easy way out because I didn’t think I could be happy here. I didn’t think there was anything for me in this world! I was wrong… so wrong!” Caitlyn began to cry again, her voice broken but still clear enough to understand. Scarlett didn’t say a word. “I don’t want to die like this. I don’t choose to die like this.”

“You won’t. I won’t let that happen.” Scarlett opened her mouth to continue but Caitlyn placed both hands on the older woman’s cheeks and looked at her sincerely.

“I know I won’t.” For the first time Caitlyn smiled. It was pained and her eyes were brimmed with tears, but it was a genuine smile. She was happy. “I’ll die doing the right thing… how I choose.”

“Don’t say that, Caitlyn. There’s another way.”

“Thank you. Thank you for everything.” Voice broken and weak, Caitlyn planted a kiss on Scarlett’s forehead. Turning away from Scarlett, Caitlyn faced the portal. Without a word she closed her eyes and the wind died down instantly within the electronic barrier.

The creature growled as it swirled around, speaking in a terrible language too foul to decipher on the wind. Scarlett got to her feet. There had to be something she could do, some way to intervene. If Caitlyn didn’t want her to, did that make it right?

“What’s going on in there?” Tony had landed his Mark armor and watched cautiously when the wind died. He could see Scarlett and he could see the little girl. Something had changed and drastically at that.

“Time’s up, we have to trigger the trap.” Bruce began but Tony immediately argued.

“Let me go and grab her at least. It’ll take ten seconds.”

“That thing is going to get stronger and stronger with the more time we give it! Scarlett can make it out of there on her own!”

“I’m not leaving her in there. Let me go!” Natasha argued and Clint volunteered immediately afterward.

“Blackbird doesn’t know we gave her a time limit okay? She dropped her earpiece somewhere!”

Steve stepped closer to the barrier and at once he understood what was happening. The others kept bickering to try and decide what to do next but he could see the change in Caitlyn. He could feel the sadness practically radiating off of his partner, crouched in the dirt and looking helpless.

“Caitlyn’s ending this.” Steve whispered but no one seemed to hear him over their bickering. “Damien! Damien, you’ve got to get out of there! Now!” When she didn’t respond, Steve threw his shield onto his back and then ran through the electronic barrier.

The group outside of it stared in wonder and then exchanged glances.

“Oh, so you let Ice Man go through but not me. I see how it is.” Tony grimaced. Natasha stepped closer to try and understand what was happening. Her head was aching too much but her instincts were telling her it was time to get down.

“Captain Rogers, what are you doing?” She ordered over the radio.

“Caitlyn’s going to collapse the portal and trap the monster!” Steve leapt over craters in the earth, rolled onto the dirt and made his way over to Scarlett as quickly as he could. If she didn’t get out of the way then she’d be taken down with it.

“Caitlyn, don’t! There’s another way!” Scarlett ran toward Caitlyn to stop her. “It doesn’t have to be like this!”

“You have to go. I won’t let you get hurt anymore.” The air became thick as the portal expanded around Caitlyn, her hair whipping on the wind that only swirled around her. She seemed to have the power contained at long last.

“No!” Scarlett felt the air around her pulse, the thickness in the air dropping and then rebuilding rapidly. It made her feel sick. An incredible force made the ground quake and crumble to pieces. The electronic net shorted out for just a second before sparking back to life. Losing her balance, Scarlett slid on her knees as she was forced back, dirt piling around her. Her ears were ringing; she was in pain. The air was too thick then too thin, she couldn’t breathe! Clutching her chest desperately, Scarlett made an attempt to get to her feet and trudged forward.

“Stop!” The demon howled as it moved in a more limited range. Appearing through the shadow, its guise peeled away from it they could see its true form. The crown of bones began to crumble into dust. Its long arms shriveled and grew weak. Still the creature hovered over Caitlyn and made mad attempts to engulf her. He could no longer. That power had been stripped from him. It clawed at her, swiped at her back and made her bleed. Caitlyn cried but she didn’t stop. Claws grasped at her shoulders and made an attempt to pull her away from the portal. Holding her hands in front of her, Caitlyn used all her remaining energy to summon a ball of light.

It was the light they’d seen when the portals had formed at each incident. That must have been how she had opened the portals every time before. The light had been her true gift, not the shadow that passed through it.

The glow expanded and then with a terrible ‘crack’ the light disappeared. A wave of energy exploded throughout the electronic barrier, kicking up dirt and debris in its wake. The poles in the ground bent and snapped in half then clattered to the ground. At once the barrier disappeared.

Bracing herself for the blow, Scarlett crouched low and anticipated being knocked off of her feet or at least thrown several feet backwards. Dirt flew through the air, rocks crashed into trees in the surrounding area. Chaos reigned. But nothing hit Scarlett. When she opened her eyes she saw Steve standing guard in front of her, shield held in front of him. He’d taken the brunt of the blow!

“Rogers, we’ve got to stop her! We can still save her!” Scarlett got to her feet and grabbed her partner’s shoulder. The demon howled and seemingly the whole world shook beneath them. She nearly fell off of her feet!

“We can’t. There’s nothing we can do!” Steve felt the sick feeling in his stomach that came with his realization. “She’s going to stop him. It’s her choice, Scarlett.”

“I’m not going to let her die. This is stupid!”

“I’m not going to let you die.” Steve stood up. “We have to get out of here! The portal will crush them both!”

“You must leave.” Caitlyn’s voice echoed calmly over the sound of the demon’s horrible objections. She was completely engulfed within it, no form of her remained. She was gone. “Now.”

“Come on. Time to go.” Steve gestured toward the edge of the crater. When Scarlett refused he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her right off of her feet.

“Put me down!” Scarlett made an attempt to pull away but Steve was far too strong. The battle had weakened her. In her heart she knew she had to give up. Caitlyn was doing what she needed to do. The world seemed to blur around her, everything seemed slower and yet it was over in an instant. Sound muted and all she could hear was her own thoughts reminding her over and over that she failed.

Just outside of the perimeter near the useless electrical poles Steve huddled to the ground, holding Scarlett out of site behind his shield. As awful as the first few explosions had been, he knew the final blow would be crushing.

The portal began to fold, to crack like a mirror. Parts of it shattered and hung in the air before fading into light.

Making a mad attempt to escape the demon pulled every which way but it was as tethered to Caitlyn as she had been to it. Blood sprayed on the dirt as the demon clawed at the girl in hopes of escape but she held fast. Another wave of energy knocked the remaining electronics and sent the heroes off of their feet. Steve held fast onto Scarlett as they were pushed back into a nearby tree. They heard Caitlyn’s cry of anguish as the portal finally crushed into a miniscule point of light and then disappeared into nothing.

All was silent in Central Park.

The only light remaining came from the halo outside of the park’s perimeter.

Loneliness hung on the air that was now crisp and cold.

Tony’s arc reactor shone bright as the sun in the darkness, illuminating the little that remained. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Several others clicked flashlights to life after they’d realized it was over. Realization dawned on them all. Scarlett and Steve stared, out of breath, toward the spot where they’d last seen the little girl

“She’s gone.” Steve whispered and made an attempt to sound comforting though he felt that sadness consume him. Scarlett shoved him off of her and stood up. The crater in the ground still remained; a memory of the carnage that had taken place inside the barrier.

If the demon had made it over to their world without that barrier to keep it in place then it wouldn’t have just been a crater in Central Park: it would have been all of Manhattan. Caitlyn had done the right thing. She’d done what Scarlett would have done if the tables had been turned. Yet Caitlyn was so young, it felt wrong.

“That’s it?” Clint spoke cautiously, still holding Scarlett’s sword in hand just in case something came after that. They were all waiting for the axe to drop.

“That’s it.” Steve got to his feet and watched Scarlett as she jumped back into the crater. She wasn’t sure what she hoped to find, but she had to check to make sure that Caitlyn was gone.

“Did Scarlett…?” Natasha nodded toward her friend who was walking to where the trap still remained, closed.

“No.” Steve didn’t understand the question at first. It dawned on him that Natasha had thought Scarlett was going to kill Caitlyn to save them all. “She chose to collapse the portal on top of them so they would both be crushed.”

“So she’s…” Natasha again implied her question.

“Yes.” Steve nodded knowingly. The others exchanged glances but the sorrow was palpable.

This didn’t feel like much of a victory.

“She’s dead.” Natasha spoke louder.

“Her name was Caitlyn.” Steve interjected before Natasha could speak again. “Caitlyn sacrificed herself so that no one else would become like her. She didn’t want to watch any of us get hurt any longer.”

“You’re right.” Natasha seemed irritated at first that Steve had to go and make things personal. Then she softened as she watched Scarlett kick the dirt off of the busted up trap and pick it up off of the ground. “You’re right. Caitlyn was very brave.”

“Now what are we supposed to do?” Mickey could barely breathe. She had never watched anyone die before. Even when her fiancé had passed away she hadn’t been present. Someone had always told her after it had happened. This was much worse.

“We do our jobs. Agent Bennett, make the call.” Natasha guided them, making no attempt to do so herself.

“Yes, Agent Romanoff.” Jinx pressed a button on her phone and then spoke into her headset. Somehow she was managing to keep herself together remarkably well in comparison to the others. “This is Agent Julianna Bennett. We’ve found a resolution. We need a cleanup team.” She continued to communicate with Maria Hill on the other end of the line but the others sat and stared at the crater, lost in their thoughts. “No, the target has been eliminated…” Those words seemed louder than the others and more significant.

Some waited for a second wave of attack. It didn’t seem right that it had ended without more of a fight. Others were considering what could have been done to prevent Caitlyn’s death.

Scarlett was wondering if the heavy price that been paid had been worth it. In the end she already knew the answer.

It was.

“We should get everything wrapped up here.” Scarlett ordered as she got closer. There was no sign of grief on her face, no sign of anguish.

“You should.” Mickey spoke up, stealing a glance back at Jinx before turning her attention back to the group. “Before you go if you could collect the electrical poles and any sign of this machine we built. I’m staying behind to lead the cleanup crew. Get the go ahead before you leave.” No one made a move to go anywhere. Even Tony was silent for once. “Did it really have to end like this?”

At first no one spoke. No one really had an answer. It was hard to admit the truth when it was so grim. Then Scarlett broke the silence.

“Yeah, it did.” She could have said a hundred things to elaborate the reasons why but she didn’t need to. Caitlyn had finally made a choice of her own. Every second of her attachment to the demon had been spent in torment. The demon had filled her head with lies, had tormented and taunted her to further lower her self esteem.

He’d made her need him.

Or at least, he’d made her think that she did.

Caitlyn had become so broken, so vulnerable, that the demon had become a part of who she was. She’d allowed it to possess her in order to fill some self inflicted void within her heart.

In the end she’d finally realized what she’d done and had made her first real decision in a long time. Scarlett knew how hard it was to admit the truth even when it was standing right in front of her.

Caitlyn had chosen to die to save everyone else because she knew how deeply the demon had possessed her.

She hadn’t died at the hand of some monster or from a bullet to her brain. No trap had taken her or crushed her soul.

Her life had been taken in sacrifice so that others may live.

That didn’t make it in vain.