"Get up."

Steve didn't move. Didn't even lift his head. His hand remained where it was, resting on the ashes of his oldest friend.

"Get up, Rogers."

Again he ignored Nat's words. The last time Bucky had died in front of him, it hadn't taken, even if Steve hadn't known better at the time. This time, though – this time Bucky had dissolved before his very eyes, just said his name and then – gone.

Again.

Steve snarled when he was shoved over – thankfully not into Bucky's ashes, which would have been an unforgivable offense at this point. He finally jerked his head up to glare at Natasha, who had been the one to shove him. "Really, Steve?" she demanded, "We were so close – you were so close, and now you're just gonna give up? On your feet, soldier!"

"What's the point?!" he nearly hissed at her.

"The point?! The point is that Barnes broke seventy years of brainwashing for you, Sam followed you on a mission to take down the government after only knowing you for a few days, Wanda was just a kid, and you're just going to give up?! They need you, Rogers. On your feet."

Steve actually growled at her, but he staggered to his feet just the same. She was right. She usually was.

Nat turned to Thor. "Come on. You, too." When he looked about to argue as well, she said, "Thor, I never thought the day would come when these words would leave my lips, but what would Loki do?"

That pulled him up short. Of all the things he had expected her to say, that wasn't one of them. But he actually thought about it, eyes flicking away then coming back. He clenched his jaw and used Stormbreaker to push himself to his feet.

Nat nodded sharply. "Let's go find Bruce and see who else made it. We can start here."

So they did. Bruce made it, and Colonel Rhodes, Queen Ramonda, General Okoye, the Jabari leader M'Baku – but not King T'Challa. Not Princess Shuri. And with all the chaos taking over the world, no one know about Clint, about Tony, about Fury or Hill or Scott or Sharon. Even with Wakandan technology, they couldn't get through to them.

"Go, Captain," said Queen Ramonda, "Whatever else may be true, in your country you are still a powerful symbol. The Avengers are still a powerful symbol. Go home, get yourself a public interview or post a video on the internet. Tell everyone what happened. Tell them that you intend to fight. Give the world something to focus on, an enemy to rally together against. Leave Wakanda to us." She shared a glance with Okoye, who had the same dried tear tracks on her face, then handed Steve a set of kimoyo beads. "You know how to use these?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"If you need anything for your fight against the monster that did this, and if it is within our power, Wakanda will aid you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Pepper's waiting for us at the Compound. Apparently Ross got dusted, and everyone else is too busy worrying about their own problems to enforce the Accords. No one's coming after us, at least right now." Natasha settled into the co-pilot's seat and joined Steve in staring out through the cockpit window at the ocean rushing away under them.

"Finally some good news." Steve rubbed his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well, kept seeing Bucky dissolve in front of him and hearing Colonel Rhodes call for Sam with no reply. "You got through to her? What about Clint?"

"Nothing yet from him. The Iron Man suits have a dedicated receiver and frequency; she picked up there. I'm going to keep trying, though."

"You got a list of everyone?"

"I can start one."

"Fury and Hill if they're not already on there, and Scott Lang. If they're still around, I don't know how much help they can offer, but many hands make light work."

"Scott Lang?"

"Yeah. He was the guy who got really big at the airport."

"Fair enough. I doubt there's a person in the universe who was left untouched by this; it'll be good to have more help, like you said."

"And if the government's too busy to come after us, they'll be too busy to come after him, too. I hope that'll be enough. If he lived." Steve glanced back towards the passenger bay. "How's Bruce doing?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"He's taking it hard," Natasha replied, equally low, "him and Hulk. Hulk's a bit like a child in that respect; he doesn't really understand what happened. Bruce is trying to explain, but it's upsetting both of them. Thor, Rhodey, and the raccoon – Rocket? – aren't doing too hot either. Especially Thor. He said Thanos had the chance to Snap because he didn't kill him right away. Wanted to watch him suffer and die slowly. Apparently Thanos attacked his people as they fled the destruction of Asgard, cut their numbers in half."

"And now they've probably been halved again because of the Snap," Steve finished, rubbing his forehead. He could feel a migraine coming on despite the serum. "Are they on their way to Earth?"

"They were when he left them."

"If they make it in time and want to fight, we'll be glad to have them. At this point I'd even take Loki."

"Agreed. But apparently Thanos killed him personally after Loki attempted to assassinate him."

Steve let out a breath, and Nat hummed in quiet agreement.

Pepper looked every bit the battle-ready CEO she was when they arrived, but when Steve stepped forward to hug her, he could smell that she'd been crying rather intensely recently. He stepped back and searched her gaze.

She didn't even need to speak – just laid a hand on her stomach, and he understood. His eyes widened, and he heard everyone else gasp behind him even as he pulled her back into an even tighter hug. A second later Nat was hugging them both almost as tight, then Rhodey and Bruce, Thor and Rocket from the Asgardian's shoulders.

Pepper's whispered confession – "I hadn't even told Tony yet."- made them all hug tighter still.