Upper State New York

Avenger's Compound

10 days later

Tony was busy working in his lab when Jarvis announced Carol and T'Challa's presence. "Send them in Jarvis and tell the others to meet us here."

Carol and T'Challa entered the room first, but Bruce, Peter, Sam and a freshly arrived Thor followed closely behind them. Bruce immediately asked about Natasha, Bucky, and Steve. "We ran into a little snag," Carol replied, "but they shouldn't be far behind."

"You just left them!" Bruce's eyes started to turn green.

"At Natasha's request," Carol replied calmly. "She insisted we bring T'Challa, the president, and the other heads of state home. The real Ross was able to steal a second ship. He, another powered man named Jack Hart, Bucky, and Natasha had a sound plan to rescue Steve. They shouldn't be more than a day behind us."

"Oh," Bruce replied, "I'm not sure about Ross being much of a help, but I can see Natasha's reasoning. Ross has never been trustworthy though."

Carol looked at T'Challa then back at the others. "Ross's spent a lot of time on Kral 5. It's changed him. He was instrumental in the rescue mission."

"I should have gone with them," Sam replied.

"We did okay, Sam," Carol replied. "They'll be here soon, and if they aren't, you and I will go rescue them, okay?"

"Seeing you is a bit of a surprise, T'Challa," Tony said, changing the subject slightly. "I guess he was the only other Avenger you found."

Carol nodded. "And, I assume you're mission was also a success, Thor."

"In a manner of speaking," Thor replied. "He is no longer in possession of the infinity stones or the gauntlet, and he and my sister are, at least for the moment, trapped in the ruins of Asgard. The Guardians are currently hiding the stones and gauntlet in various locations."

"Except Vision's, of course," Tony added. "Vision and Wanda are back in Europe for a little R and R. Strange agreed that the stone he was protecting needed to be off -world."

"Good," Carol replied. "I guess it's time for us to get the others home."

"Yeah, about that," Tony began, "this might be our perfect opportunity to test B.A.R.F."

"We are not calling it that," Bruce said, shaking his head.

"Whatever, but this is perfect. The skrull T'Challa doesn't know he's been caught. We go to Wakanda with B.A.R.F., test it on T'Challa, and find out if our new skrull detector works."

"I do need to get home quickly," T'Challa agreed.

"Then it's settled. I'll have Fury hold on to the others until we can get to Wakanda. Wheels up in thirty."

Stolen Skrull Space Craft

"If all goes according to plan, I'll be dropping you off on Earth tomorrow," Ross said as he took a bite of his breakfast rations.

"Still not planning on staying with us?" Steve asked. "I'm sure your daughter would like to see her father."

"She wasn't too happy with me even when I wasn't a big, red monster. I don't think I'd fit in on Earth any more."

"You'd be surprised," Natasha replied. "Things have changed since you've been gone. You aren't exactly the strangest person Earth has seen, and if the Accords are overturned, I'm pretty sure your skill set would be useful."

Ross laughed. "Widow, you already have a hulk. Besides, I doubt Banner would want to work with me."

"Bruce understands what you're going through, and Betty was very upset when she thought you had died. You have a second chance waiting on Earth."

"We could use you, Ross," Steve added.

"I'll think about it," Ross replied then he got up and left the room.

"I'm sure you're ready to get home," Natasha said once they were alone.

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of feel like I'm already home. I've got you and Bucky with me. It'll be nice to see the other's and start untangling the mess the skrull made, but I'm really just glad to be with you again. And, Bucky, of course. I guess you guys are kind of home to me," he added as an afterthought.

Natasha felt her heart flip flop again. Steve had been very good about not pushing her for a relationship since their conversation the first morning in his quarters, and Natasha had done her best not to be alone with him. But, there was something about the way he considered her and Bucky his home. She smiled softly and he returned the smile.

"I am looking forward to movie nights though. I've missed those. I've also missed chocolate chip ice cream. You are going to catch me up on the new releases, right?"

"Of course, Cap. What kind of partner would I be if I let you miss out on the last Maze Runner movie?"

Steve chuckled, "Not a very good one." He got up to put away his trash then gave her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the room. From the hallway, he called back, "You're buying the chocolate chip ice cream and I want a cherry on top, Romanoff."

Natasha laughed. Her cheek could still feel his kiss, but she knew he was trying to help them get back to the friendship they had before. She sighed. In time, everything would be okay. She could go back to loving him from afar. It would be awhile before she could see herself trying to set him up with a nice girl, but they'd get there. Everything was going to be just fine.

Wakanda

Royal Palace

Tony and Bruce went into the palace without the others. Once they were with Scott, Clint, and skrull T'Challa, Tony started his speech. "You guys already know about B.A.R.F.," he began.

Scott shook his head, and Clint said, "What?"

"B.A.R.F., the therapy device I designed to help with PTSD. Anyway, after all we've gone through, I thought it might help us. We need to be able to stay focused with everything that's happening. It helped me and Bruce. Wanda and Peter said it was relaxing. Even Strange and Sam were impressed, so we figured the nice thing to do was bring it here and help you guys, too."

"Help us barf?" Clint asked.

"No, help you relax. Trust me, it works," Tony replied.

"I'm game," Scott said with a grin. When Clint gave him a look, he replied, "I'm bored. It's better than just doing nothing."

"Easy, royalty has way more responsibility, Antman. The king gets to go first," Tony chided.

"It's really not necessary. I'm fine," skrull T'Challa began.

"T'Challa, your kingdom was ravaged by Thanos. I insist. Let me help you," Tony lied. "It's what friends do. We are friends, right?"

"I don't have much time at the moment."

"Good, this won't take long and you'll be ready to get to work, fully invigorated."

Within a few minutes, Tony and Bruce had the device set up and turned on. Clint and Scott watched in anticipation. "Um, Tony, I think something's wrong with your machine. He doesn't look so good," Clint said.

"No, he doesn't," Tony replied. "Shouldn't be long now."

A few seconds later, the heart rate monitor started to beep faster and warning bells went off. "Seriously, Tony, turn it off," Clint demanded.

Before Tony could reply, the skrull resumed his true form. "I would say our detector works just fine." He spoke into his comms, "Marvel, Falcon, you can bring in the real T'Challa now."

"He was a skrull," Scott said excitedly.

"Carol is here! So, Nat is back. Is she here? Did they find Cap?" Clint asked excitedly.

"There was a little snag, but the rest of the gang should be here soon. We have a working skrull detector and a helicarrier full of diplomats, including the president. You two ready to help us return them to their proper places and capture some more reptiles?"

"Just let me grab my bow," Clint replied. "But, I'm going to need the details on that little snag as soon as we are airborne."

Yes, this one was a little short, but I needed to clear up a few details before Nat and Steve arrive home. Lots of angst and drama ahead folks. The trip may be over, but the journey has a ways to go. Thanks for reading.