Chapter Text
Cisco staggered to his left, barely dodging the man who ran past him.
“I’m sorry,” he said automatically, distracted. His voice was drowned by the noise of people, the erratic horning of vehicles, the whirring of an unknown large ship making its descent, and that deafening ringing in his ears.
His pace was slow, his direction opposite to the torrent of bodies fleeing from the scene. Cisco was vaguely aware where he was presently; a signpost nearby read 43rd Street. His phone began vibrating in his jeans, and as if snapping out of trance, he recalled the call he gave Barry and was reminded what he was doing there in the first place.
Stark. FRIDAY said that Stark’s location was here. Cisco needed to find him. Fast.
He ran past the cars that blocked the road. Barry could be here any moment to help evacuate those who didn’t manage to. For the meantime, Cisco directed a few to safety, pulling a teenager up when he tripped on his feet and an elderly who was whimpering in terror.
Cisco escaped from his previous location, running towards the intersection where there were hardly any people left and where he could see how huge the unknown ship was, like straight out of a sci-fi movie.
He wasn’t standing for too long when the edges of his vision caught red and black. There, a few meters ahead, were four males left standing; one of them was Stark. Cisco wasted no time to approach them.
“Cisco?” Stark noticed him immediately after notifying FRIDAY to evacuate the south of 43rd Street. “What are you doing here?”
One of the other three men with Stark turned to see Cisco, raising his hands to stop him from coming closer. “Sir, please leave for your safety. We’ll handle this.”
“I’m not a civilian,” was Cisco’s reply. “I’m here to help.”
His response was almost lost amidst the sound of something created by the man with a cape that collided against the spaceship. Like a force field. The whirring halted, hovering a few feet above the ground.
A beam of blue light from the ship came down, revealing two creatures—the best Cisco could describe them. They were bipedal, alright, but they certainly weren’t humans, especially with that kind of spaceship and appearance.
Aliens, then.
The smaller alien spoke, in perfect English, how they should rejoice for they would die by the hands of the children of Thanos.
“I don’t think death should be rejoiced over?” Cisco couldn’t help but mutter. A familiar-looking man with curly hair heard him, giving a mild wry expression as if he was torn between finding it amusing and out of place. Probably both.
As expected, Stark’s mouth ran, his sarcasm assaulting the speaking alien—Did he just called him 'Squidward'?
The chattering ceased once the larger of the two—definitely on par with the Hulk there but with an armor—adjusted the grip of his huge axe and trudged towards them.
A pair of mandalas appeared on both fists of two strangely-garbed men, one of them the cape guy and one looked like a monk. The curly-haired man stood awkwardly at the back beside Cisco until Stark called him 'Banner', and it all made sense now who this person was.
The Hulk would be their best power against the alien who wasn’t only large but also with a weapon. Feeling the adrenaline from an incoming battle where the odds were stacked higher on them not only because of their number and the Hulk, Cisco quickly slipped on his pair of vibe gloves and glasses.
If only Bruce Banner could transform before the alien could get any nearer.
“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards,” Stark said to Banner. He glanced at Cisco and took in his appearance with distaste. “You two are embarrassing me in front of the wizards.”
“Hey, I don’t have the time to suit up,” Cisco protested uselessly.
“Who’s this?” cape guy asked, whirling behind when he heard Cisco’s voice. “Last time I checked, there’s only four of us.”
“Long story, Doc. All you have to know is he’s on our side. Don’t let the get-up fool you. He has abilities.” Stark frowned at Cisco suspiciously. “These aliens and this Thanos don’t happen to be from your earth, are they?”
“What? How would I—”
“What do you mean his earth?”
“I thought Thanos is a—”
“Who is this guy, Stark?”
“He said earlier that he’s not a civilian.”
“Guys!” Cisco yelled. “We can have the question and answer portion for later. In case you forgot, there’s a big alien about to lunge towards us.”
Stark rolled his eyes as if saying 'duh'. “Alright, stand down, Banner.” He looked at Cisco and the monk guy. “Keep an eye on him.”
Cisco was treated to an impressive display known as Tony Stark suiting up as Iron Man. And, oh, boy, those internet videos of him doing so before was nothing compared to the nanotech in action. Cisco wasn’t foreign to nanites, though he must say the one he saw at work and wrapped itself around Stark to form his armor was state-of-the-art.
Four vertical panes came out of Stark’s back armor, releasing four blue beams of laser that shot out to the Hulk-like alien and throwing him back to where him formerly stood.
Cisco wasn’t the type to judge an opponent based on their size. He had his fare share of huge opponents, and the largest of the two they were facing now were threatening: these so-called Children of Thanos were threatening, alright. But when Squidward merely raised his hand and made a slight gesture as if swatting away a fly when his companion came back hurtling his way, Cisco immediately knew that the smaller was the more dangerous of the two.
Stark completely missed the simple display of ability, entertaining Banner’s awe, and turning his back to the enemy—which was a huge mistake when it wasn’t a second longer when the ground sprouted underneath him, throwing him upwards.
The other two men who happened to be sorcerers, as Cisco figured out, were on higher alert. The one Stark called Doc turned to them, saying to Banner that if Hulk wouldn’t be joining them, he might as well leave the matter to their hands.
He turned to Cisco. “I don’t doubt Stark that you have abilities, but I suggest taking Dr. Banner instead to safety. You can help us by looking after the others who might need help.”
Cisco wasn’t given the chance to reply when a portal of sorts opened underneath him and Banner, completely transporting them both to a different place altogether that Cisco barely recognized as the park he passed by earlier on the way.
Banner stood, offering him a hand. “You okay?”
“Fine,” Cisco breathed, accepting the assist. “You? That was still some fall.”
“I’ve fallen from higher places before.”
Cisco wouldn’t argue with that. “Where to—”
Stark was suddenly thrown past them. Banner was immediately on his side, asking if Stark was alright. The Hulk-like alien came barreling with all his strength and mighty axe that was apparently able to became a long-ranged weapon.
Cisco would have been fascinated if not for the fact that Iron Man skidded against the grass and collided on a tree, Banner still couldn’t transform despite the desperate need of Hulk, and Cisco was still in the middle of the battle.
Instinctively, Cisco put himself between them and the oncoming weapon, pulling out his vibe to quickly produce a breach that the weapon passed through instead. Struggling, Cisco opened another, although intending it to appear behind the alien, it ended up opening to the left of the creature. Not exactly the impact he was hoping for, but it did end up effective in throwing the alien off guard.
“Nice catch,” Stark’s voice came from his suit. He flew to where the alien was, firing at it until it staggered back by the sheer force of Stark’s repulsor rays.
“You’re a sorcerer too?” Bruce asked incredulously.
“No, but I can make portals. It’s a long story, Dr. Banner,” Cisco replied, if only to shake the sudden wave of dizziness that overcame him for a moment. He opened another breach, much smaller this time, when the alien whipped again its versatile weapon—which could be a shield too, goddamnit—against Stark who was akin to a fly buzzing around a bigger animal.
His power might have finally come back, but Cisco could feel that the more he used it, it was gradually becoming out of his control. The only thing that might have been keeping him standing must be his lack of physical exertion, him rooted in one place as opposed to Stark who kept the alien busy. The next breached he opened was far larger in the limited space between Stark and the alien, intending to make it as a shield for Stark that promptly fell out the second black spots appeared at the edges of Cisco’s vision. There was something warm dripping from his nose; blood, for sure.
Stark wasn’t expecting the breach to collapse. He was rocked by the force of the alien’s weapon colliding against his chest, not so different from when he skidded towards the tree earlier. His body was smashed on the ground by a well-aimed hit to his back, sending patches of grass and soil flying. Another hit was about to collide before he could even stand back, but when it didn’t come he turned he found Peter standing between him and the weapon, lifting the heavy weight off.
“Kid, where did you came from?”
“The field trip,” Peter managed to say before he was grabbed and thrown aside like a ragdoll. A flash of yellow zipped across the area of battle, grabbing Peter by the arm before he could crash on the fountain.
“Thanks, Flash!” Spider-man yelled enthusiastically. “Mr. Stark, what’s the deal with this guy?”
Stark fired another beam. “Uh, he’s from space. He came to steal a necklace from a wizard.”
“What?” came Flash’s voice. “Whoah!” A huge, vice-like clamp almost caught him. Flash got out of the way, though Spider-man wasn’t quick enough to dodge it, throwing him away once more.
Flash was already there to catch him safely, muttering a quick ‘Sorry!’ as he zoomed towards the alien and encircling him in faster speed until a fizzle could be heard. Three yellow streaks of lightning shot out from blurred whirl, hitting the alien on the back, arm, and chest. Unfortunately, they were merely shaken off like light stings, unaffected as it blocked Stark’s assortment of firearms.
“What the—Cisco!”
Banner pulled Cisco away from the blast of the deflected repulsor beam which burned the trees that fell on top of them. Banner sputtered out the leaves that had gotten in his mouth as Cisco stood back up to catch with breaches Stark’s deflected attacks and bringing them back against the alien. His accuracy had improved, but the difficulty in opening another breach didn’t ease.
“Hey, you okay?” Banner asked warily. “I don’t think they’ll mind if you take it easy.”
Honestly, Cisco didn’t think he could, not when Barry, Peter, and Stark were teaming up with this gigantic alien that had their combined efforts appeared to be useless.
Something red flew past the perimeter, with Stark calling after it. It was the wizard Stark was talking about, Barry heard from Stark as he instructed Peter to follow. Barry’s eyes found Cisco, and the two shared a nod. Barry ran along and matched the speed of the levitating body as another alien-looking man was after the same thing as them. Peter wasn’t far behind the three of them, swinging with his web from post to post.
A lone sign board hit Peter, and though it didn’t deter his pursuit, Barry paused to lessen the impact against the kid. The metal posts on the street curled against their physics to catch the body wrapped with a red cloak. The cloth got hooked, causing the body to drop unceremoniously. Peter caught the man in time, swinging him to Barry to catch. However, a bluish light had sucked the body upwards, with Peter and his web pulled along. Peter held fast, grabbing ahold of a light post briefly before it was uprooted and brought along with him towards the sky.
Barry searched for a nearby concrete wall he could run along. Heights were one of the things he was yet to overcome with his speed, unless there happened to be a tall tower nearby that he could climb on. He has buildings, fortunately, but it wasn’t near enough to propel him swiftly midair to reach out Peter by his feet and go with him.
Barry mentally cursed in frustration at his delay. He hoped Peter would look down for just a split-second and decide to extend a web down that Barry could grab on. He didn’t, for Peter never once looked back.
Cisco’s words rang hollowly inside his head. He saw Stark flew after the ship. Barry knew he wouldn’t let the kid be, though it did nothing but add to the mounting dread Barry was feeling
“I saw Peter die.”
Barry could only hope for the best.
By the time Barry returned to where Cisco was, his friend was on the floor, unconscious, and the man he was with was there hovering over him with a deep frown and concern. Another man was there, another ally. They were checking on Cisco’s vitals by the time Barry arrived.
“What happened?” Barry asked, voice ragged with anxiety.
“He must have exerted himself,” the shorter man replied. “He had a nosebleed earlier. Is his power something he’s yet to control?”
Barry shook his head. Cisco never had any difficulties with his vibe before, back when they were in their own earth. “He got it long ago, but it wasn’t responding to him since we arrived here in this earth.”
“Arrived in this earth?” the man repeated confusedly. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you the story later, but for now is there anywhere safe we can place him?”
The other man who had been quiet since Barry came opened an orange circle—a portal, by the looks of it, but it was entirely different from Cisco’s breach. “The Sanctum remains unguarded with the stone taken.” Barry has no idea what that string of words meant. “I have to return, but you two can come with me.”
Barry heaved Cisco gently, carrying him as they passed the portal. Peter was gone with that ship, and now Cisco alarmingly collapsed. Barry hoped they would both be alright.
The shorter man who had questions for him followed sedately, his clothes and hair dusty. He was fiddling with his phone at hand, as if he was debating whether to call someone or not. Once they crossed the threshold, the orange circle closed behind them. The man who opened the portal introduced himself to Barry as Wong, leading him past the broken staircase.
Barry turned to look at the man behind him who stopped. “You go on ahead,” he said to Barry. “I’m gonna make a call.”
TBC