The system panel folded shut, and Veyric let himself savor the satisfaction for a moment.
Then he glanced down at his wrists.
The left one was already mostly healed, Venom having quietly knitted the flesh back together while no one was looking. Only a few faint pink marks remained. The right was worse, but the symbiote's black tendrils had already drawn the wound closed, skin mending at visible speed.
He tugged his sleeves back down and let out a long breath.
"Perfect end to a perfect night."
On the ground, Hawkeye's web-wrapped cocoon was going through the violent throes of the cure.
Nearby, Falcon lay crumpled where he'd fallen. Colossus had lifted his foot and stepped back, watching with a look caught somewhere between guilt and caution. He said nothing.
Eventually, the flow of corrupted blood ran dry.
A brief silence settled over the street. Then, from inside the cocoon, Hawkeye stirred.
A sound rose from his throat, low and rough, dragged up from the deepest pit of unconsciousness.
"...Natasha."
Barely a whisper. His body was wrecked, and the word was pure reflex, the first thing his clearing mind reached for.
Natasha stopped brushing dust from her hands. She walked over without a word and stood looking down at the man still tangled in webbing on the pavement.
He lifted his head. Those eyes, freshly restored to something human, found hers.
They held each other's gaze for several seconds.
Then Natasha spoke, the corner of her mouth curling with what looked suspiciously like pride.
"Clint. I win again."
He blinked. A rough, exhausted laugh scraped out through his teeth.
"How about you untie me first." He jerked his chin at the layers of silk binding him.
She drew a knife and started cutting through the webbing, strand by strand.
The two of them fell into easy conversation as she worked, trading words like old friends reunited after years apart, though in absolute terms, the zombie plague had been raging for less than two weeks.
Veyric stood off to the side, watching them quietly, and felt something tighten in his chest.
Front-row seats to the Hawkeye-and-Widow dynamic. Anyone who knew the Avengers understood that these two shared something forged in fire, a bond that went beyond friendship entirely.
Deep enough to survive the trial of the Soul Stone.
Not romance, though. Clint had kids old enough to run errands on their own. What he and Natasha had was something purer: comrades-in-arms, family by choice.
Back in his old life, walking out of the theater after Endgame, Veyric had never quite made peace with Black Widow's sacrifice. And in that film, Hawkeye had lost his closest companion forever.
But now, having stumbled into a zombie universe where Thanos hadn't yet come knocking, Veyric had managed to undo one of the MCU's greatest heartbreaks. Accidentally. In the first person.
"Hey, Veyric. Thank you."
He snapped back to the present. Natasha had already freed Clint and was standing in front of him, her expression flickering with something hard to read.
"I mean it. Everything you did to bring Clint back..." She paused, then shook her head lightly. "But," she added, leaning a fraction closer, her voice dropping, "Clint and I are close teammates. What I mean is, we're not... you know... He has children, you're aware of that, right?"
"Yea, I know.."
Natasha faltered. "You... knew?"
"Hawkeye has a wife and kids. You and he are lifelong war buddies." Veyric blinked at her innocently. "Isn't that common knowledge?"
She pressed her lips together. No response. A strange, delicate silence filled the air between them.
She stared at his face, open and utterly free of ulterior motive, and for once couldn't find a single thing to say.
She'd been gearing up to say don't misread our relationship, but against a reaction this guileless, the clarification felt absurdly unnecessary.
Right on cue, a round black head pushed out from Veyric's chest. Venom.
"Natasha," the symbiote said, a teasing lilt in its voice, "Veyric crossed over from a parallel universe. He knows everything about this world already. All the things you were about to explain? Old news to him. No briefing required."
It paused for one deliberate second, those dark eyes sliding toward Natasha with a look loaded with meaning. Then it retreated back inside Veyric's body without another word.
Natasha cleared her throat and turned her face away, casual as anything.
"Anyway. Thank you for saving two Avengers."
Off to the side, Peter had been orbiting the conversation with his head tilted, curiosity practically radiating off him.
Then, wisely, he decided this was a moment best observed from the background.
He glanced over and caught Colossus wearing a warm, knowing smile, eavesdropping on the whole exchange without the slightest attempt at subtlety.
Across the street, Sam Wilson staggered to his feet.
He stared at his own hands. He turned them over again and again, his expression caught in a limbo between relief and horror.
"I... was actually trying to eat you guys?"
His voice was thin, carrying the specific tremor of someone freshly pulled from a nightmare.
Peter walked over without a second's hesitation, clapping both hands on Sam's shoulders.
"Welcome back, Falcon!" Bright as a carnival barker.
Sam looked up and met the grin behind Peter's mask.
He steadied himself. Took in the scene around him.
The familiar Spider-Man. The familiar Black Widow. A hulking figure sheathed head-to-toe in steel. Blade, still wearing sunglasses at night.
And that young man standing at the edge of the group, expression calm, somehow the most composed person here despite looking like the least remarkable.
Falcon frowned slightly.
"Is this... a rescue team?"
Peter jumped in with zero restraint. "That's one way to put it! Allow me to make the official introduction. This is our current captain, Veyric. He has the ability to cure zombies. As in, he's the literal antidote to the apocalypse."
"Cure zombies?!"
Falcon and Hawkeye blurted it out in unison.
The claim sounded impossible, but having lived through it themselves, neither could argue.
Peter's excitement stalled for a beat. He straightened up, put on a serious face, and raised one hand.
"Oh, and one more thing. We don't have an official team name yet. I've got a suggestion. Since Veyric is the captain, how about... the Resurrectors?"
Veyric winced. "Little on the nose."
"I like it!"
Every head turned. Colossus was clapping his enormous metal hands together with absolute sincerity.
"Simple, memorable and with a clear meaning," he said, tone perfectly earnest. "I vote yes."
Veyric pressed his fingers to his temple, about to protest further, when a pair of headlights swept across the group, making everyone raise a hand to shield their eyes.
An SUV bounced its way down the ruined street toward them.
It rolled to a stop. The window came down, and the blue-furred face of Hank McCoy leaned out.
Round spectacles perched on his nose, eyes bright with excitement behind the lenses.
He scanned the group, did a quick headcount, and broke into a grin.
"Two new additions! Excellent. I've already prepared blood collection kits. What I need from freshly cured subjects is..."
"Back to base first," Veyric cut him off. "We've been out here too long. Collect your samples in the car."
Beast looked visibly disappointed but nodded.
"With this many people, you'll need to split into two vehicles. The two Avengers over there, if your wings aren't operational, ride with me."
He waved Hawkeye and Falcon over with obvious enthusiasm. Blade climbed in alongside them while the rest piled into the vehicle Natasha had driven in.
Engines roared to life. The two cars pulled out one after the other, heading back toward the bunker.
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A/N- Alright guys, time to start the Power Stone goals...
For every 100 Power Stones, I will drop one bonus chapter. So yes, this is your official reminder to feed the story with those shiny stones..
For the regular schedule, I will upload 1 to 2 chapters daily. Nice and consistent....