Holly Potter and the Midlife Crisis (Hp x Mcu) by Enigmaris

Chapter 72: Death Valley

Summary:

Death Valley is hot. Very hot. And Steve Rogers is melting. The days tick down closer and closer to Thanos' arrival and more and more allies are beginning to appear.

The large sign outside the building read 92 °F (33 °C).

It was also currently 5:30 in the morning.

Steve had woken up before the sun had in the hopes of getting a morning run in before it got so hot that someone with his metabolism would suffer horribly. Unfortunately, it hadn't cooled much at all overnight and according to Jarvis it was going to get hotter and hotter, topping up around 112 °F (44 °C) by midday. So, Steve would probably be staying inside where the air was cool and the sun wasn't threatening to make him melt.

In his defense he didn't think Selvig had planned for his super-soldier to be put in intense heat and the serum held up well in the freezing cold (really well). But still out of everyone Steve was doing the most poorly in the heat. Well him and Loki, but Loki was biologically from a planet made up of glaciers so his dislike of the desert heat was justified. Steve was still doing worse than him because Loki could conjure ice whenever he wanted, and Steve just had to hope drowning sweat again would help cool him a little.

In the five days they'd been here it had yet to but as his ma' used to say 'Hope Springs Eternal'.

Only he, Bucky, and Holly were here in the Death Valley Visitors Center full time. Everyone else had places and things to do to prepare for Thanos' arrival. Clint was with his family on the farm, working from home to help get SHIELD on board with everything they needed. Natasha was doing the same as well as working with the UN but she was with her family, seemingly trying to soak up as much parental affection as she could stomach before the end. Bruce was in New York helping share and solidify his research about werewolves with his colleagues there. They were going to start preparing varying potions that might help stop the transformation each month so that they could test them during future lunar cycles.

Tony was also in New York doing the work to ensure that everything at SI would be fine if the worst happened, he was also working with various governmental bodies to help gain support. He had refused to stay in Death Valley when he'd seen how awful the internet was and instead said that he and Jarvis wouldn't suffer under that for any longer than absolutely necessary. Thor was off planet, in Asgard, gathering forces to fight with them. Loki was in the magical world doing the same. The Guardians had gone off to gather allies and intel as well. Carol should be returning from her trip to check on the Skrull within a few days.

They were all aware that they could die doing this. This was their first fight where they had time to prepare, to face the reality of what they were about to do. For the most part their fights happened quickly, they received little to no warning and they just had to rush head first into danger to save the day. This was different, this was the silence before the battle and it made Steve feel a bit itchy. He and Bucky both had very little to do which hardly helped. Converting the visitor center to something that would house more and more people had been done on the first day with Loki and Holly's help.

The visitors center originally had been designed to have a gift shop, a few rooms to have demonstrations in, as well a series of larger rooms that held displays with information about the plant and wildlife that called the Valley home. There were even some interesting historical boards that spoke of the history of native Americans and the valley. That along with the ranger's offices and the bathrooms was the totality of the space and really only the bathrooms were of use to them.

So new rooms had been magically added and cooled so that incoming troops would have a place to rest. They added a large mess hall with table enchanted to just magically produce plates full of food. The food for the tables was provided from both Tony and Holly, the two buying a lot of food in bulk and then storing it magically so that the kitchen could magically cook it and the tables could serve it. The food was good but all of it did have a weird tang to it that Steve had to grow used to.