InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Italian ice is tasty."

There were too many of them. Any fool could see that, and Steve was no fool. The plan had clearly been to storm the building and overwhelm those inside. They obviously hadn't counted on finding someone halting their way as he got the last people seeking shelter inside.

He'd managed to get the last of them through the door and get it barricaded as they reached him. He hadn't done too badly against whatever it was attacking him. They weren't human, that was as far as his thoughts got. He was too interested in making sure they didn't get past him to give it more consideration.

It was after managing to bring down maybe three of them that he felt the hit from behind. He didn't know who, or what, but he hit the ground hard, winded and dazed. He was just pushing himself to his knees, his body protesting the motion as he reached for his fallen shield, when he was hit again, and he was back on the pavement before he could blink.

---

Diana didn’t have an off button. When it came to people in danger, she would fight until the last bit of her strength would leave her. Since that had yet to happen, a limit hadn’t been determined. She had been taking a short reprieve nonetheless when a woman garbed in black and boasting an antlered headdress caught her attention. The dark energy solidifying into barbs were enough to rouse her from the rooftop. Diana landed on asphalt, ground cracking underneath the force of the landing.

The woman chuckled at her arrival, paused in advancement to regard Diana as she rose in a defensive stance. Sword in hand, shield raised, it only took a moment for them both to acknowledge a worthy opponent. With a flippant introduction of her name and title, Diana did the same while bringing her blade down upon one that Hela, Goddess of Hel itself, summoned from seemingly nothing.

Clashing swords with her, Diana kept up with the goddess well enough until something drew her attention away from the other woman. She saw them, skeletal creatures slinking through the streets toward the villa. It left her open to a blow from Hela and Diana went careening into a parked car. With an exasperated sigh, she stood up, sheathed her sword and checked the car for any victims. Fortunately, it was abandoned, so Diana lifted it up and threw it at Hela who only seemed to cut through it like butter.

She couldn’t linger here for long, the horde would be upon the villa and she didn’t know what the status of defense was now. It had been hours since she’d checked in with Carol. Frustration prompted Diana to take a sharp cut to her arm as she grabbed one of Hela’s many antlers, spun round in place and threw her miles away. That would keep her at bay while she made her way, rooftop to rooftop, to the villa.

Sword drawn, she fell upon the undead creature upon her friend. Her sword went straight through it and she flung the body aside. Hastily she offered Steve her hand, eyes wide with worry.

“Are you hurt?”

---

Steve took the offered hand gratefully, getting to his feet and only taking a second to find his feet with some semblance of steadiness. "I'll be fine," he intoned, pulling his hand away from his side. No gushing blood, no sharp pains. Just the deeper ache. From experience that boded well.

He lifted his shield defensively, but it seemed the majority of them were fleeing at some other order from their mistress. Which left the mistress herself. "Thanks," he added a little ruefully.

None of them had made it inside, and Steve counted that as a victory. That was the main thing. That was all that mattered.

---

Diana kept a firm grip on him until she was certain he seemed stable. Watching him check his injury, she leaned down to inspect it herself as well out of concern. As long as there wasn’t blood, Diana would try not to worry. Steve had proven himself to be more than just a little capable of taking a hit thus far.

Once she was satisfied with his condition, she slung the shield onto her back and sheathed her sword. The minions were on the run, but she doubted they were out of harm’s way yet. Soaked from head to toe, she gave an irritated sigh at the circumstances. This shouldn’t have been happening, the constant onslaught. Even with superior strength and durability, if the assault continued, it would only be a matter of time before exhaustion took them all.

Hands on her hips, she turned to survey the retreat through the pouring rain. “I ran into a goddess,” Diana said to him. “Named Hela. I think they’re tied to her.” She glanced at the cut on her arm that Hela had delivered and shrugged. “If she comes here, I can handle her. Is everyone inside safe?”

---

"For the moment," he answered succinctly, considering the direction in which their enemies had fled. He had a feeling that wouldn't be the last they saw of them. He ran a hand over his face, brushing water out of his eyelashes and off his cheeks.

"She's a goddess?" He clarified, the question largely rhetorical. "We need to keep her away from here. Something to get her away." He pointed down the street away from her. "That way. You stay here, watch the perimeter. I'll lure her away."

---

“What?” Diana questioned, reaching out to grab his arm. Attempting to hinder him, she shook her head. “Steve, no. We need to stick together, and we need more help. I can handle her myself, but she claimed she is the goddess of death. The things she can create… They could overwhelm this place. We need you here.”

Visibly frustrated with the situation, she shook her head. She needed Clark nearby, but hadn’t a clue where he might be other than out there fighting. If he was preoccupied, it would be for good reason. With Bucky on the mend, too, they were fresh out of options. Even so, she didn’t like the idea of Steve luring Hela away.

---

"You said it yourself," he reasoned. "We can handle her alone. But not here. It's too exposed. Too close to them." Too close for his comfort, in fact. "We need to get her away from here."

He considered the door and the crude barricading he'd done. It wouldn't hold up to much. "They'll be back." Those things. "One of us needs to protect this place." And he didn't know if it could be him. Not with the way he was feeling. He had to be realistic.

---

Unrelenting, Diana kept a grip on his arm just in case he decided to run off without her like he planned. She detested the idea of using someone as bait, especially when it was someone she was just starting to care about. That good heart he possessed needed to be protected just as much as the lives of those in the building, at least that was how Diana saw the matter.

“I can handle her. I am the daughter of Zeus, and I was born to fight the gods who strayed from the path of good.” The insistence in her voice caused it to break, but ultimately Diana released her hold on him. It was his right to choose and forge his own path. Knowing that still gave her a pang of remorse, remembering the man she lost intending to do the same.

Another shake of her head showed she had acquiesced, even if she didn’t like it. “Go. I won’t be far behind you once I take the horde down. Don’t engage her without me, Steve, not if you can help it.”

---

As unrelenting as Diana was, Steve was equally as stubborn. "I don't need to engage her." Not exactly. "I just need to keep her away from here." That was all that mattered to him, in the end. Keeping the people he cared about, keeping the innocents, safe.

"I'll move south." It was the logical choice, and with any luck Hela would follow his plan and find another, more appealing target in him. In where he led her.

"You keep them safe." He repeated, the unmistakable 'Captain America' tone creeping into his voice. The one that brooked no argument. "You keep Bucky safe."

---

“Call me once you’ve lured her far enough,” she answered insistently. “I will get to her and stop her.” One thing was certain, she had the energy to face a horde, but after that blow he had taken, Diana wasn’t so sure he could handle the strength of a goddess bearing down on him. Being unable to tear herself into town proved immeasurably frustrating.

This time, Diana grasped his free wrist for a firm shake, as though cementing a deal. “You know that I will. Keep yourself safe. Now go. I can hear them regrouping close by.”

Diana moved away from him, heels dug deep into the concrete. Rather than draw her weapon and shield, she instead unfurled the lasso. It glowed bright in the dim light of the torrential rain. Her hands needed to be free to unfurl a crushing blast of energy when the time was right, and the lasso would suffice against an army of the dead just fine.

---

"I will," he assured, clasping her wrist in turn before releasing it to step away. This was the only answer he had in the current situation that lead to the least collateral damage. The best solution for keeping that evil away from those he cared for most in this world.

"See you on the other side." There was that same flippant, dismissive tone, and with a salute that from anyone else might have seemed mocking, but from him spoke of nothing but sincerity, he was gone. Jogging down the street and away from her.

---

It seemed like chaos followed in his wake. Certain she saw a blur of darkness dart after Steve not long after his departure, she didn’t let it distract her. She focused on the oncoming horde, Hela’s veritable army of the dead that had regrouped and seemed to have even increased in number. She cared little for the odds, doubting at all that they were stacked against her. She held firm until the opening she waited for arrived.

Leaping up into the sky, lasso wrapped tightly around her gauntlets, Diana unleashed a wave of energy with a battle cry that could be heard for miles. The sheer force of it knocked back the skeletal creatures, breaking the majority of them and scattering the parts into bony ash. Then, she leapt into action, wielding the lasso with precision to tear through the would-be army. Her eyes were locked on the barricade Steve had made at any given second, and by the end of the fight, her back was pressed up against it as she watched the last skeleton crumble.

Breathing heavily, she lost her composure for a moment. Slouched against the barricade, Diana used her sword to hold up her weight and fished around for the phone in her belt. It was broken into pieces, much to her horror.

“Steve,” she whispered under her breath, quickly straightening in alarm. How had he fared?

---

Hindsight was a funny thing. It had never truly been his friend. As he pushed the debris in an effort to free himself, he thought of all those times it hadn't served him. Bracing himself against a fallen beam and the pain he knew would accompany the action he levered himself to his feet.

With satisfaction he watched Hela move slowly in the direction he'd intended. Away from where he didn't want her. Wounded badly, perhaps, but not defeated. Pulling the cowl from his head he let it drop beside him, reaching for his shield in the same movement. Hus uniform was covered in blood and dirt, and he stumbled as he pulled himself free of the wreck of metal.

Looking back in the direction he'd come from, he considered his options. He truly doubted he would make it that far.

But they were safe. That was what mattered, Steve thought as he let himself sink to his knees and draw in a shaking breath. They were safe.

---

With a cursory glance at the fallen, she waited a second longer to ensure none rose again. When nothing but the rain echoed the surroundings, Diana launched herself up to the nearest awning, then again to the nearest rooftop. Raising her shield above her to divert the rain, she focused on the south path he’d taken. Making out some of the debris was all she needed to spring her into action, practically bouncing from one rooftop to the next until she landed next to Steve as he fell to his knees.

Diana dropped to her own before him and wrapped him tightly in her arms, worry coursing through her being. “Steve,” she said urgently, praying he wasn’t on his last legs. He looked worse for the wear, but now wasn’t the time to tell him he shouldn’t have done this. He’d done exactly what she would have done if the situation had been reversed.

After a moment, she pulled back and let her hands rest on his shoulders. The concern she felt was etched all over her battleworn face. “Are you -- can you stand again? Long enough for me to get you inside?”

---

He didn't protest being helped to his feet, focusing past the pain to get them beneath him. "I'm okay," he breathed a little shakily, bending to pick up his shield again. If he was leaning on Diana more than he intended, it wasn't consciously done.

One arm wrapped almost protectively around his middle, blood trickling sluggishly from a cut somewhere hidden at his hairline. He looked back in the direction she'd come from. "They're gone?" He asked her. Of course they were, or she wouldn't be here, would she? "And Bucky? He's inside? He's safe?" They all had to be safe.

He took a faltering step, and then another. They had to get back. He had to get back to his post. That's what mattered now.

---

Easily supporting him beside her, worn down as she was, Diana nodded at his questions. “Yes, it’s safe. Nothing got inside.” She looked up at him, frowning at the sight of blood. “He’ll be alright, now we must worry about you,” and Diana was well beyond that. If she didn’t get them both out of here soon, the window of opportunity to avoid Hela’s gaze would diminish, and she wasn’t about to risk Steve further.

Springing into the air, she couldn’t jump as far with the extra weight of the super soldier in her grasp, but made good time getting back to the villa. She landed atop the broken bones and dusted entrails of Hela’s army and observed the barricade--still intact. With a sigh of relief, she shifted her grip around Steve’s waist, mindful not to brush against his injuries.

“You are going inside now, and you will sit with your friend and recover,” she stated firmly, her eyes telling him that arguing would get him nowhere.

Reaching up to wipe some of the blood from his head, she examined his hairline carefully. “I can’t see the injury, but I can help clean it up in better light. Ready?”

---

She moved them so quickly it was all a bit of a blur for him. Or maybe that was the head injury. That was a difficult call. He knew it would heal soon, though. The pain wouldn’t last, either. Even if right now it felt like he might pass out with the intensity of it.
When she wiped blood from his forehead he frowned, reaching up himself to touch the wound. Blood on his own fingers surprised him. He hadn’t realised he was bleeding. He nodded at her question then thought better of it when everything tilted dangerously.

“Ready,” he confirmed, moving towards the entrance with her, ignoring the way his body protested every step, gritting his teeth against the worst of it. His pride might not like it, but he knew he couldn’t fight again today. He’d only be a liability.

---

With some rest, he would fine, Diana told herself. It would be difficult not to blame herself for some of his injuries, but they were both determined--too determined to let anything into the villa that could hurt their friends. Steve did what he believed the right thing and Diana respected it. If he could heal as well as he could fight, then she wouldn’t be worried for long.

Instead, she would fight for him. Eventually, after a day of tracking, she would defeat Hela and go as far as to offer him part of her headdress as a sort of gag gift to cheer him up as he recovered. She would tell him how she couldn’t have done it without Nico’s help and most importantly, without Steve wearing her down first.

That was the sort of friend Diana would always be.