Natasha occupied a seat near the back of the jet. The noisy turbine helped to drown out some of the noise from the others. It aided in the sense of isolation she was trying to achieve. Just for a second, she told herself. She needed to pull away and just... be. Nat hadn't gotten much rest before they left HQ. No one had. Still, that didn't make her any less tired. She was no stranger to demanding missions, but these last few days had been a lot. The grand scheme of things was finally revealed. The real threat being posed was... bigger than anything Natasha had come up against before. She was used to things like bringing down toxic, underground rebel regimes. She could save a city or two. Hell, she could even save the world, but the universe? One half of every life form out there was threatened by this "Thanos" and his mission. That was a pretty big pill to swallow.

Natasha just wished she wasn't so damn tired.

"Natasha." Wanda's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Nat looked up to the auburn-haired woman and offered a little smile. She wondered how much Wanda knew. Her powers tended to give her more insight than most people typically had. In a way, Natasha wished that Wanda did know about the tiny seedling of life growing inside of her. It would have been somewhat of a comfort. Wanda had become like a sister to Natasha. Steve, too. She would've been a welcome help with… all of this. But everything was still so new, and with no guarantee that any of it would last, Natasha and Steve had decided to keep quiet about it.

"Yeah," Natasha said, "just needed to get away from all that... science talk." She hooked a thumb over toward Banner, who had been spitballing ideas and theories to Vision the whole jet ride.

"Yeah..." Wanda glanced over to them. She shook her head once and returned her eyes to Nat. "Look, I... just wanted to say sorry. For going dark. We just... wanted a little time, you know?"

I know. Nat thought. Believe me, I know. "It's okay. I'm just glad we found you in time."

"Right." Wanda took a deep breath. "I also wanted to say thanks. For that and... for helping find another way."

"Of course." Black Widow replied. "We'll do whatever we can."

"I know you will." Wanda replied with a great deal of certainty. She reached out a hand, prompting Natasha to reach up and take it. Both females squeezed the wrist of the other in a show of gratitude, respect, and solidarity. They held gazes, and in that moment, Natasha felt a little flutter at her core. There seemed to be a sense of knowing in the woman's gaze that brought a certain sense of peace. Wanda held onto the gesture for a few seconds longer before releasing her hold and walking back to sit with Vision and Banner.

Natasha had followed Scarlet Witch with her eyes and now caught sight of Steve standing by Sam in the pilot's chair. He was looking back with some question; some concern on his handsome face. That look always pulled at Nat, like it was attached to some invisible strings tethered to her chest. She felt a bit guilty for it, at times, like she regretted making someone care for her the way Steve Rogers did. She still didn't think she deserved it most times. She didn't think she deserved him, but Steve saw something in her that no one else did. He saw the goodness in her, and he brought it out like no one else could. Nat smiled warmly over to him. He returned the expression.

Eventually, Steve was giving Sam the coordinates needed to pass into their destination. Below them, endless green spread out in every direction. Trees, hills, grasslands; an entire landscape of healthy, thriving earth stood as tall and as proud as its inhabitants. Amidst the green stood beautiful buildings crafted from brilliant minds and advanced technology. The Kingdom of Wakanda was an incredible sight to behold, no matter how many times one laid eyes on it. And, of course, it was well-protected. Those instructions that Steve gave Sam? They were very precise (and very classified) coordinates given to enable trusted entities to pass through the small port of entry through an otherwise completely guarded nation. A dome-like forcefield encapsulated Wakanda, keeping it safe from threats both on the ground and in the air. The shell, like so many other things in Wakanda, was a result of the Vibranium-enhanced technology that was the nation's top resource. Any unsanctioned entities trying to pass through that shell were rewarded with a swift and fiery demise.

Thankfully, Cap's instructions worked just fine, and the jet was able to safely pass through the barrier and into Wakandan airspace. There was no shortage of sighs of relief from Sam, but Steve, per usual, was cool-headed. After all, this wasn't his first trip. It probably wouldn't be his last, either. He pulled his eyes away from the front-facing windows when Natasha joined him on the other side of Sam's chair. Like him, Nat had been to Wakanda before. In fact, all of their visits here had been together. The small sea of people waiting for them near the landing space was a welcome sight for those who had seen it before, but Steve could understand why some of the others might feel a bit wary.

Wakanda's leader, T'Challa, the proud holder of the Black Panther mantle, was surrounded by his loyal, lethal kingsguard, the Dora Milaje. The all-female group of exceptional warriors were garbed in deep red. The sun glistened off the tips of their spears as well as their shaved heads. In all his years, Steve had never seen an army quite so disciplined, quite so formidable, as the Dora Milaje. He glanced over his shoulder to gauge the reactions of the others and couldn't help but grin as some of the slack-jawed expressions he saw. His eyes moved to Natasha last. There was nothing but respect and appreciation in her green gaze. She had confessed, on more than one occasion, her feelings about the warriors. Unsurprisingly, Nat was very much a supporter of the Dora Milaje. They were lethal and beautiful, just like her.

Also standing among the group of Wakandans was Steve's oldest friend. James Buchanan Barnes, "Bucky" stuck out like a sore thumb among the brown-skinned natives of the country. Steve couldn't put into words how relieved he was to see his friend up and around again.

The jet landed a safe distance away from the crowd awaiting them. When the thrusters were fully disengaged and shut down, Sam dropped the loading ramp. He joined Wanda in helping Vision to his feet. Steve and Natasha led the way off the jet, with Sam, Wanda and Vision behind them, and Rhodey bringing up the rear with Bruce. Rhodey had been to the nation before. Natasha couldn't help but grin at the "advice" she heard him giving Bruce.

"Should I bow?" Banner asked.

"Well, yeah." Rhodey replied, doing his best to mask the sarcasm in his voice. "He's royalty, man."

Thankfully, Rhodey stopped Bruce before he could go and make a fool of himself by actually bowing.

"My friends," T'Challa stepped forward to greet them. "It is good to see you." He extended a hand, which Steve gripped firmly. Natasha followed suit and then delivered a nod of greeting to the tall, chocolate-skinned woman standing beside T'Challa.

Okoye was general of the Dora Milaje and head of Wakanda's armed and intel forces. She was tall, fierce, beautiful, and undyingly loyal to her king and country. Natasha had seen her in action a time or two, and she could safely say that Okoye's fire was unrivaled. She was an excellent ally to have, and a terrible enemy to behold. Nat was glad she could consider the woman the former of those two options.

"Thank you for having us on such short notice." Steve was telling T'Challa. "We figured if anyone could help us, it'd be you."

T'Challa released a warm laugh. "Well, I do not know if it is my help you need as much as Shuri's. Either way, we are glad to be of assistance. Come. My sister is waiting."

T'Challa turned, motioning toward the building behind him with one hand. As he did so, the group of Dora Milaje behind him parted down the middle, one half moving left, the other right. T'Challa led the way back, with Okoye beside him. Natasha and Steve fell in behind them, and the rest of the group followed suit. When they were all together, the Dora Milaje closed in, surrounding them on all sides for something as simple as the walk back inside the building. Seemingly unnecessary, but both Nat and Steve knew that nothing the Dora Milaje did was without purpose.

As they walked, Steve and Bucky had their long overdue reunion. Bucky had been a guest of Wakanda for some time, now. They'd helped him get his mind back after Hydra had hijacked it for militaristic purposes, and they'd constructed him a new arm to replace the one that had been lost so many years ago. The friends traded witty banter and grins that made Natasha think they were just kids again. It brought a smile to her face. Steve didn't get to let his guard down too often. It was nice to see him able to do that, now, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Once inside, introductions were made. T'Challa was a warm and kind man, and he welcomed the others with smiles and grace. He was a strong, wise, and good king. Steve held great respect for the man. Young as he was, he had been through a lot, and he had proven himself to be more than capable of the burdens he carried. His powers as the Black Panther were rivaled only by his prowess as King of Wakanda. He was a great ally. Of course, the Wakandan technology was a nice added bonus of that alliance. It had helped Bucky find peace, and then strength. It had helped Steve and Natasha in ways they could never repay, and now, it would hopefully help Vision.

"I have... so many questions." Banner remarked as he took in his surroundings.

"Well," T'Challa said with a chuckle, "I think you should save them for my sister."

The group was lead up a winding hallway that allowed them to climb the spire-like structure of the building's north end. The Dora Milaje had dissipated by this point, leaving only Okoye to accompany T'Challa. It was hard to count "floors" with the winding style of the building, but they stopped somewhere about halfway up to pass through a set of doors that branched off to a leveled-off wing of the building. A west-facing wall made completely of reinforced glass overlooked the huge expanse of the hill leading down to the edge of the treeline. Inside, a lab filled to the brim with Wakandan technology hummed, whirred, chirped and blinked all around them. There were prototypes of different Black Panther suits, spears and other forms of weaponry for the military forces, and some things that words couldn't even begin to describe.

And that mastermind behind it all?

T'Challa's little sister, Shuri, Princess of Wakanda. The nineteen year old genius whose tongue was as sharp as her mind. She was a petite thing, with braided hair neatly piled atop her head and a smile that could only be described as cheeky. She was known for pranking and incessantly teasing her brother, but she always came through in times of need. What's more, she had contributed to pretty much every technological advancement Wakanda had seen for the last four years. As mischievous as she could be, however, Shuri was just as kind as her brother. She had particularly warm welcomes for Natasha and Steve.

"And how are... things?" She asked as she embraced Nat.

"Well, we've got an intergalactic tyrant breathing down our necks with ideas of global extinction, but..." Nat pulled back and held Shuri at arm's length, a grin on her face. "All things considered…" she glanced down toward her stomach, "I'd say we're doing just fine."

Shuri's smile widened, very briefly, before she was clearing her throat and stepping away from Natasha. She gave a little elbow nudge and a cheeky, "Captain" to Steve as she passed by, something he was physically unaffected by, but caused him to grin, nonetheless. He watched the princess approach Vision, whom she observed with a very keen eye and a much more serious expression. There was a bracelet on her right wrist, which she pressed one bead of and activated some sort of scanning device. It registered Vision, from head to toe, in just a few seconds.

"This is unlike anything I've ever seen before." She remarked. "There are trillions of neurons, here. The framework is... very complex."

"Can you do it? Can you take it out?" Wanda asked. Shuri had been informed of the situation while the group was en route. She seemed to be completely ready for them by the time they arrived.

"Yes," Shuri answered, and everyone seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. "But it will take time. One wrong sequence and his whole system could collapse."

"We'll help however we can." Bruce said.

The first manner of business was getting Vision up on a table. It was similar to what one might see in an operating room, but there was none of the invasive equipment to accompany it. Rather, there were many sensors and devices that used incredibly small lasers to heat and cut. It seemed more like something one might see in one of Tony Stark's workshops than in any hospital. More for machinery than man, though Vision had proven to be a very ample mix of both. Once he was situated, Shuri began running some preliminary diagnostics. Under the assumption that they would only be getting in her way, the group decided to give her some space, save for Banner. If anyone could be of any use to Shuri, it would be him.

When everyone was gathered elsewhere in the room, they brought T'Challa up to speed on anything that had happened since they last spoke. He was aware of the situation at hand, and of the fact that it was very unlikely that they had seen the last of those things that called themselves "Children of Thanos". The Wakandan King informed them that they would have the full military support of the other tribes. There were a lot of unknown variables, questions that would likely go unanswered for some time, but they would be as ready as they possibly could for whatever might come next.

This was it. This was the banding together, the camaraderie, that Steve had missed since the falling out of the Avengers. Groups of incredible people, combining forces to fight the good fight. This was important. He knew that if they stood any chance at pushing back the threat that was coming for them, it was together. He looked down as he felt the black star emblazoned across his chest swell with something: Hope. All they had to do was separate that stone from Vision, destroy it, and then Thanos would be one step further from accomplishing his goal.

"My King." Okoye's voice sounded troubled. She approached him, her palm upturned, so she could cast a projected image from a bead in her bracelet into her hand. An image of Wakanda's defense shield hovered in blue light. Above it, some falling objects. "Something is approaching," she said, "and fast."

All eyes turned to the window.

Far above them, gray figures began to appear in the sky. They plummeted down like falling stars, complete with fiery tales and all. As they got closer, they appeared to be some sort of wedge-shaped aircrafts that acted more as pods than anything else. They seemed to have detached from something else, something much further up, that had been carrying them. Natasha held her breath as the first structure hit the top of the dome.

The sound of the explosion was muted, but flames and thick, black smoke could clearly be seen as the shield obliterated the craft on contact. Two more fell at different locations on the shield and suffered the same result. However, several more were landing outside of the shield's reach. In the forest, the streams; wherever they hit, the crafts created tremors in the earth that kicked up clouds of dirt and stone.

"Two heat signatures are moving toward the northern quadrant." Okoye announced.

"It's too late!" Vision yelled from the table. "Wanda-"

"Hold still!" Shuri scolded. "We are almost there."

"How much time do you need?" Nat asked the girl.

Shuri pressed her lips into a firm line and shook her head a couple of times. "As much as you can give me."

"Then that's we'll do." Steve said.

"You heard the Captain!" Sam told them with a little too much excitement. "Let's see what we can do!"

T'Challa, Okoye, Sam, Rhodey, Bucky, Nat and Steve headed for the doors.

"Brother!" Shuri called out as they were moving. "Open that case, there."

T'Challa did as instructed, pausing by a large metal box on a table he'd been passing by. Opening the box revealed a dark gray, Vibranium shield. Grinning, he lifted it from the case and tossed it toward Steve. "Captain!" He said as he did so. "I believe this is for you!"

Steve caught the shield easily. It was much smaller than the one issued to him all those years ago, but the jagged, almost teeth-like edging at the bottom said it was just as dangerous as his old one. Maybe even more so. There was a strap on the inside that allowed him to secure it to his forearm. It felt good. It felt right. Steve had almost forgotten how unnatural he'd felt without his shield at first. Hopefully, this one would stand up to whatever they were about to face outside. Something told him it wasn't going to be an easy fight.

Steve and Natasha brought up the rear of the group, making them the last out in the hall. As the others disappeared around the corner, Steve took a hold of Natasha's wrist and pulled her to a stop. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. He could hear it in his head. It was so loud he could hardly hear anything else. Steve took a few deep breaths and looked down at Natasha.

"Maybe you-"

"Steve," Nat said, warning in her tone. She held his gaze, though hers did flicker a bit. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but she knew what he was going to say. And it wasn't even a choice. Not to her, anyway. She reached across her body and gripped Steve's arm with her opposite hand.

"Natasha, please." His voice was quiet, but no less firm. "There are some things I'm just not willing to sacrifice."

Those words, the heartbreak behind them, were like a blow to the chest. Natasha was pained to see the wavering hesitation in Steve's eyes; the way it pulled his brows and his lips downward. Her green hues moved back and forth between his brilliant blues. Time was precious, and it was fleeting. They didn't have much of it.

"If we don't go out there, if we don't all go out there," she reminded him, "then it won't matter." She stepped a little closer to him. "I'm scared, too," Natasha said quietly. "But I trust myself. To know what I'm capable of, and what I'm not capable of losing." She let that sink in for a moment. Her eyes started to sting a little bit as they looked for, waited for, Steve's understanding. "I trust myself to make the right calls. I need you to trust me, too."

Steve held her gaze for a few, silent moments. His lips were pressed together in a firm line, but then he released a heavy breath that parted them. "I trust you," he told her. "Of course I trust you."

Natasha forced her way into Steve's chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him for a second. "Good. Besides," she said quietly, "you said it yourself. We don't trade lives."

Steve closed his eyes and let that mallet hit him in the chest. By his own words, no one life was more or less important than another. Still, if someone held a gun to his head and forced him to reveal the truth, Steve knew he would paint himself to be one, big hypocrite. He huffed a breath of air out of his nose and shook his head.

"You're not gonna let me live that one down, are you?" He craned his neck so he could look down at Nat, who was now looking up at him. Her lips were pressed into a tight, half-smile. She shook her head once.

"Nope."

Steve nodded. There was a flicker of worry on his face that was pretty quickly replaced with a serious expression. "I love you," he reminded her.

"I know." She replied.

Together, they ran out to join the others.