Strong as Stone --Part Fifty-Nine.
This is it, folks. The last official chapter. After this, there’s only three epilogues, and then that’ll be it for Strong as Stone.
I can’t wrap my head around it.
Update Rating: T for mentions of death and mild violence.
Pairings: Okoye x M’Baku.
Taglist: @the-last-hair-bender, @skysynclair19
Every event in life comes to an end, my dears, as does every phase, every story, and often the river itself.
But do not fear. Where rivers end, often entire oceans begin.
***
“How are you feeling about going?”
Okoye sighed as she worked on packing a bag of basic supplies; they weren’t expecting the mission to Siberia to be a lengthy one, but it paid to be prepared. “As good as I can be,” she said as she added an extra medical pack to her bag. “Physically, I’m ready.”
“And emotionally? Mentally?” M’Baku asked as he gently laid Khari on his back on their bed.
She pursed her lips as she searched for an answer; there was the obvious elephant in the room –dying, not making it back to him and Khari, thoughts of that nature—but she didn’t want to touch on it. It was almost as if talking about it would make it manifest during the mission, and that was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.
“Mentally, I’m ready to get back to work,” she decided before leaning over to gently tickle their son’s belly. “As much as I love you,” she cooed, beaming down at Khari, “I do like having a routine.”
“And emotionally?” M’Baku asked again as he studied her carefully from his spot next to Khari.
Okoye let out a quiet sigh, then stepped over to where he sat and into his arms. “My heart is always with you. And our son. No matter where I go.”
“Sounds very painful,” M’Baku commented casually. “Leaving vital organs in various places while you go on missions.”
Okoye snorted and dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “Really?”
“You were the one who said—”
“You know what I meant!” They both chuckled together, then Okoye gently cupped her lover’s face with both hands. “I’m coming back to you. Both of you.”
M’Baku tilted his head up to kiss her cheek, then her lips. “We’ll be waiting for you when you come back home.”
***
“It looks pretty busted,” Djabi commented as she studied a holographic display of the Siberia outpost they were currently headed to. “Like they haven’t done anything to fix it up.”
“We did knock out a lot of their financial resources in the South Korea raid,” Jhanvi noted as she sat back in her seat. “Maybe they just… can’t.”
Okoye grimaced and pressed a fist against her lips as she stared down at the display of the base.
Something about the set-up didn’t seem right. Even if the Siberia outpost was all they had left to use –which Okoye seriously doubted, considering the reach and depth of HYDRA’s resources; even if they had managed to hack away at the organization’s remaining assets, she knew it was unlikely that they had taken out every single person affiliated with the group.
“Thoughts, General?” T’Challa asked, already geared up in his Black Panther suit.
“It could be a trap,” Okoye suggested. “The base was completely abandoned when Zemo led you there the first time. Now, however, they’ve had a month to get adjusted to the space and adapt to it –possibly even lay it out with traps. They’ll definitely have the advantage.”
“We’ve got the better team, though,” Jhanvi pointed out. “HYDRA doesn’t have any active labs or enhanced agents anymore. All things considered, it shouldn’t be too much of a fight.”
“Perhaps,” Okoye said tentatively as she turned back to the display. But, then again, perhaps not.
***
The process of entering the dilapidated base had been nothing short of arduous. The platforms leading down –along with the main door—were still destroyed from the fight that had taken place between Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers, and Sargent Barnes well over two years ago. Agent Maximoff had needed to lift them down in groups –which didn’t bode well for how they’d be getting back out, should things take a disastrous turn.
The inside of the base wasn’t much better. According to T’Challa, the place had been largely broken down the first time he’d come here. Now, after a borderline death match between three men with more weapons and strength than strictly necessary, a couple of harsh Siberian winters, and time, the base seemed like it was barely standing.
“We’re sure this place isn’t going to come down on our heads while we’re in here,” Agent Barton muttered as they crept down the entry hallway of the base. “Right?”
“What, don’t like the sound of an instantaneous burial?” Natasha fired back.
“Not really, no.”
“I think I can hold up a few falling beams or a caving-in ceiling,” Wanda said with a smirk.
“Yeah, but what about an entire mountain?” Clint fired back.
“Don’t worry,” Adesina murmured. “If we die, I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you at the gates of hell.”
“What about me makes you think I won’t be going to heaven?” Clint asked, indignant.
“Can we focus, please?” Okoye hissed as she crept alongside T’Challa. The base was completely silent, save for the noises they were making, which didn’t bode well with her. “We’re sure they came here?”
“Are you saying I made a fucking mistake?” Jhanvi snapped under her breath.
“I’m picking up life signs on my kimoyo beads,” Djabi said.
“And I can sense their psychic presence,” Wanda added. “They’re here. It’s just a matter of finding them.”
Okoye adjusted her grip around the shaft of her spear as the group moved forward. “Our biggest problem is that most of the lights are broken. We won’t be able to find them –much less fight them—if we can’t see them.”
“I can handle that,” Adesina said as they approached the main chamber where the other Winter Soldier sleeper cells had been stored.
There was a bit of shuffling as the taller woman stepped towards the front of the group –then, even in the dim light, Okoye could see her swing her hand towards the cavernous room.
The shadows retreated back, practically lifting off the walls and leaving fire-like light in their wake.
The remaining HYDRA agents –along with several individuals dressed in drab-looking gray scrubs—were standing around the perimeter of the room, holding various weapons.
“Oh. Shit,” Jhanvi said as she took in the sight. “Uh, okay. You can put the shadows back now.”
“Get down!” T’Challa shouted as several of the HYDRA agents began opening fire on them.
Okoye gritted her teeth as she dove behind a large pile of concrete and rebar, along with Djabi, several other of the Dora Milaje, Jhanvi, and Sam. “What did I say about this being a trap!”
“Fine, I owe you five pounds!” Jhanvi shouted. “Whatever! Maximoff! Make a fucking shield already!”
“Working on it!” Wanda snapped, before lifting her hands and making a shield of glowing red energy to protect them from the onslaught of bullets.
“Alright, they have guns,” Djabi said, standing up as their enemies stopped firing. “Who are those other people?”
“Presumably,” Okoye said, stepping out from behind their cover as one of the people in scrubs –a woman with string brown hair and a furious expression—advanced on them. “Their other guns.”
T’Challa managed to cut the woman off before she could reach them, aiming blows at her that she blocked easily. “She doesn’t seem like an average fighter,” he grunted when she caught his wrist.
“They made new Soldiers,” Bucky breathed, an expression of horror spreading over his features.
“I thought that process took a lot of time,” Jhanvi said as she slowly backed away from one of the other Soldiers –a tall man whose arms were covered with bruises and what looked like burns.
“Something tells me they cut a lot of corners this time around,” Steve growled as he readied himself to take on the third Soldier, who wore a haunted, slightly crazed expression.
Before any of them could do anything, however, the Soldier that had taken on T’Challa aimed a kick at his gut, accidentally setting off the kinetic energy discharge function of his suit.
An explosion swept through the room –and the ceiling started collapsing in on the room immediately after.
“Split off into groups!” Steve shouted. “The side tunnels all lead back to the main entrance. We’ll regroup there!”
Okoye sprinted after T’Challa, pairing off with him, Sam, and a handful of other Dora Milaje as the room finished collapsing and sealed them off from the main room—
But not the first Soldier, who had pursued them down the hall –and had picked up a rusted pipe to use as a weapon in the midst of the chaos—and several of the HYDRA agents.
“Ready to fight, General?” T’Challa asked as the first Soldier lunged at them with a feral shriek.
“Bast willing,” Okoye grunted as she blocked a swing from one of the HYDRA agents with the shaft of her spear.
***
The explosion in the main chamber of the base had set off a chain reaction. It seemed that, once the place started collapsing, there wasn’t enough remaining stable internal structure to keep the rest of the place from going down as well.
The mission quickly gained a new objective: in addition to dispatching the remaining HYDRA agents –and new Winter Soldiers—they had to make it out alive, too.
Okoye dodged another falling chunk of ceiling –then quickly ducked to avoid a kick from the Winter Soldier. There’s too many things to focus on at once. “We need to eliminate some extra variables if we want to make it out of here!”
“Working on it!” Sam shouted as he fired at one of the HYDRA agents as best he could, given the steady collapse of the stronghold they were in.
“Get behind me,” T’Challa said, suit glowing from taking several hits from the collapsing building. He waited until they and the other Dora Milaje soldiers that had paired off with them were out of the way, then let out a burst of kinetic energy at the surviving agents and the first Winter Soldier.
The agents and Soldier were sent flying back –and were subsequently crushed under the downpour of rubble.
“That’s that sorted,” T’Challa said as he darted out of the way of another boulder-sized chunk of ceiling. “Let’s get back to the entrance!”
***
Fortunately, most of the remaining team was waiting for them at the entrance and working on figuring out how to exit quickly.
Unfortunately, Adesina, Jhanvi, Djabi, Clint, and the rest of the Dora Milaje were still missing –and the base was nearing the final stages of collapse.
“We can’t just leave them!” Wanda insisted as she stopped a massive chunk of rock from crushing them and set it aside.
Before anyone had time to argue, the –presumably—final Winter Soldier sprinted out of the nearest tunnel like a bat out of hell, looking terrified half to death.
And then Adesina floated out after him, eyes glowing red and wisps of shadows swirling around her.
That would do it, Okoye thought as the remaining members of their group poured out behind Adesina.
The last Winter Soldier quickly took a swing at Bucky—
And the ground started shaking violently under their feet, signaling that the entire mountain the base had been built into was liable to come down any minute.
We don’t have time for this, Okoye thought as she watched the Soldier and Sargent Barnes exchange blows. She readied her spear, watched the rhythm of the fight, then darted in and rammed her spearhead through the Soldier’s middle before quickly ripping it back out.
The final Soldier collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll.
“We need to go now!” Steve exclaimed as he protected Natasha from a falling chunk of rebar.
“I’ve got it!” Wanda held out her hands and started lifting the whole group as quickly as she could. She gritted her teeth and groaned, hands shaking with exertion as they all sailed higher and higher—
And then they were over the lip of the launch bay and in the final hallway that led out of the base.
“Move!” Sam shouted as he slung a nearly unconscious Wanda over his shoulder and started booking it towards the door.
They all ran at top speed towards the ships, doing their best not to trip or stumble as the mountain quaked under their feet.
“Get the ships in the air!” Okoye commanded as she took the pilot’s seat. “Quickly!”
The ships had barely gotten into the air when the mountain finally buckled inwards, spitting up a plume of dust and snow as it crumpled like a house of cards.
Okoye steered the ship away from the destruction –but didn’t fail to notice that Bucky was standing beside her seat, watching the mountain collapse in on itself through the windscreen. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Bucky murmured. “Just… never thought I’d see the day.”
***
She was almost dead on her feet by the time they reached Birnin Zana.
Okoye rubbed at her neck and shoulders as she trudged off the ship. All she wanted right now was a hot shower, something to eat, and a bed to collapse face first into.
And then she saw M’Baku waiting for her on the landing platform with Khari in his arms, and all thoughts of exhaustion fled from her mind.
She strode over to them as quickly as she could manage and practically collapsed against M’Baku’s chest when she finally reached him.
M’Baku adjusted how he was holding Khari –who was steadfastly asleep—so he could wrap an arm around her. “Are you okay?”
Okoye lifted a hand to gently rub her son’s head of wispy curls, then smiled and pressed her forehead against her partner’s chest. “I’m where I want to be.”