First, let me apologize for the insanely long delay. The state of the world the last few months really zapped my creativity. This is the conclusion, and it had to be just right. I didn't want to rush through it, and my amazing writing partner Amir-015 agreed. Hope it's a fulfilling ending to our saga.

As soon as Carol spoke Thanos's name, Steve turned to look at his wife. She was already putting on her shoes. No longer relaxed, he could see she was in Black Widow mode. So much for an evening at home.

Natasha quickly tossed him his brown leather jacket, and he slipped it over his shoulders before opening a portal to the compound. As soon as the three heroes entered the hangar, Steve glanced around the room at the Avengers in front of him. Most were present and already in at least part of their battle gear. The Guardians were there as well, but they didn't look particularly battle ready. If anything, they looked battle weary. Gamora was standing beside a still seated Nebula, adjusting her mechanical arm. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the team had already come to blows with Thanos.

"Report?" he asked, giving Carol his full attention.

"The Guardians found him," Carol said, lowering her voice a bit and shifting her eyes towards the door leading to one of the many labs off the hangar. Steve nodded in understanding and followed his fellow captain into the room. He didn't need to look to know Natasha was right behind him. They always worked in perfect synchronization. This battle wouldn't be any different, even if everything in him screamed to hide her away in the most remote area he could find until Thanos was defeated.

As soon as the door was closed, Steve shook his head. "The orders were locate and report back, not engage."

Carol nodded. "I know. Unfortunately, Thanos's minions saw them first. They were ambushed. According to Rocket, they held him back for awhile, almost made it back to their ship, but things went south." She paused and looked through the glass window. Steve followed her line of vision back to Nebula. The girl did look rough, even compared to the others. "Thanos made some modifications to Nebula's special adoptions. She didn't even know they existed. He took control of her remotely, Rogers. He forced her to turn her weapons on her own team. She managed to keep enough control of her mind not to hurt them. Her shots fired over their heads, but Thanos figured out she was fighting him. He shut her down. She couldn't move her legs. The others fell back. They didn't have any choice, but Nebula was captured. Thanos knows everything. He took the information from her mind before the rest of the Guardians could rescue her. He's coming with his entire army, and he wants revenge."

Natasha spoke next. Her voice was calm and pragmatic, something he always admired about her. "We always knew this was a possibility. We knew we wouldn't be able to hide what we've done forever. If we didn't manage to take the fight to him, he'd bring it to us. Have you informed Fury?"

Carol nodded. "He and Director Carter are already with their teams. Stark is making a few modifications to their carriers before lift off. He took Rocket with him. Project Insight was never meant to be used in space. I'm not sure how well they'll do against a single ship like Thanos has, let alone a whole fleet."

"Tony's been working on this for years, and Rocket knows his stuff. It'll work, but we better prepare for incoming. If even one ship gets through, we have to be ready to take them out," Steve said. "I'm assuming Strange is gathering us some help."

Carol smiled. "A few have already arrived. You might want to go say hi. They're in the common room."

"I think I'll check on Nebula," Natasha said. "Similar childhoods, maybe I can help." She kissed Steve on the cheek and headed over.

Steve watched for a minute, remembering the bond the two women had formed in the old timeline. Some things didn't change, and his wife's capacity to help people was one of them. Once he could see that Natasha, Nebula, and Gamora were deep in conversation, he headed to join their guests.

Before he even entered the room, Steve heard Thor's booming voice followed immediately by Odin's. "My boys! Fighting together for the sake of all the realms! This is a proud day. Lady Sif, open the mead!"

"No mead until the battle is won," Frigga said, as Steve opened the door. "We'll celebrate after the war is won." She smiled when she saw Steve. "Captain, my family is here to repay the debt we owe you. I give you my assurance our son Loki is here as a friend to Midgard."

Loki, who was sitting between Lady Sif and Darcy Lewis stood and bowed his head slightly. "I have no intention of taking control of Midgard at the moment."

"Loki!" Darcy said, rolling her eyes. "I suggested you apologize not give a veiled threat."

Loki sighed. "Very well. I will not be conquering Midgard. Perhaps, I was misguided in thinking my superior intellect would be of value as ruler of this land. Your people are quite stubborn, but I do come in peace. Ruling your land would not have been satisfying in the long run. It countered my true desires. I believe Ms. Lewis said it best when she explained to me. What was the phrase you chose?"

Darcy popped Loki in the side. "I said you had Daddy issues, Loki," she said rolling her eyes at Jane and Lady Sif. "Hi, Steve. Jane and I thought you might need a little technical support. It's been awhile, which is cool. I heard about your wedding. I mean, I think that's great. Big fan of true love and all that stuff, so no hard feelings over the whole not calling thing. Water under the bridge."

Bucky, who was on the other side of Sif walked over and hugged Steve. "We'll win this time," he said, and Steve hoped his friend felt as confident as he sounded.

"How can we lose with this team?" Steve asked.

"How indeed?" The Ancient One asked from her seat across the room. "You've done a remarkable job this far, Captain. Even without looking into the future, I would say the odds are in our favor. Wong and Rahul are assisting Doctor Strange and the other sorcerers in gathering the best warriors in the galaxy. We shall give Thanos a good show."

"As long as he loses in the end, I don't care much about the show itself. Are you sure you're up to this? You don't have to be here. You've done enough," Steve said, frowning at her still weakened appearance.

"As have you, but our job is not quite finished," she said, offering him a slight nod of her head.

"No, but it will be. Thank you for dragging me through that portal and showing me a way to finally make things right. The last several years have been a gift. Couldn't have gotten this far without you."

The Ancient One smiled. "Nor I without you. You are a good man Captain Rogers."

"I don't know about that, but today's going to require more than good men and women. If plan A doesn't work and those carriers can't blow Thanos out of the sky, we're going to need every soldier we can get. I should probably suit up," Steve said before turning his attention back to Bucky. "Walk with me?"

Bucky nodded and followed Steve out the door. "Worried?" he asked. "Don't think Natasha'll be too happy if you get worry lines. She already teases you about being a senior citizen."

Steve laughed. "If all goes well, she'll see plenty of wrinkles on this mug in the years to come." Steve paused and stopped walking. "Buck, remember how I always said I'd be with you to the end of the line?"

"Of course I do," Bucky said. "You know I'm going to be here for you just as long."

"Well," Steve said, making eye contact with his friend, "as far as I'm concerned, this is it. It's the end of the line. Growing up, you were my best friend. You're more of a brother really, but I think we both have new best friends now. I've got Natasha, and you've got someone special, too. When this battle ends and Lady Sif goes back to Asgard, I want you to go with her. Live your life, Buck. I think you've earned your chance to get the girl."

Bucky laughed. "Look who's talking. I've always gotten the girl, Stevie."

"Never for long enough. You love her, Buck. Don't stick around on my account. I've got Natasha. You should go be with your girl."

Bucky nodded. "Alright, Steve, if she'll have me."

"She'll have you. Be happy. Now, go tell her how you feel before the evil titan shows up for his butt whooping."

Natasha didn't have to search long when she went looking for Steve. She found him in their quarters staring out the window. "I'd offer a penny for your thoughts, but they're worth so much more," she said as she leaned against the door frame.

Steve turned to face her. "I don't know about that. Not sure they're worth even a penny at the moment. Nebula?"

"Tough," she said. "She'll be ready if she has to fight. She needs this over even more than we do. All those years of torture-" She walked over to the bed and picked up Steve's gloves before taking his hand and helping him slip on the first one. "Having a father figure who uses you for his own selfish gain at whatever the cost does damage a screwdriver isn't going to fix, but when this is over, when Thanos is dead, she'll start to heal."

"You make it sound so much easier than it's probably going to be."

"Didn't say it would be easy. It's probably going to be bad, Steve."

Steve was quiet as she helped him into his other glove then he looked back out the window. "Last time we fought Thanos, it was ugly. You had just died. We weren't exactly alright. I wasn't alright. We thought he was dead. You and I had watched Thor decapitate him five years earlier, Nat. We no more than brought back the people he'd stolen before this whole place collapsed around us."

"I know it was hard," she said, rubbing the hand still in her grasp.

Steve looked back out the window. "See that bench down there."

She gave him a puzzled look before looking at the familiar bench. It wasn't empty. A blue alien with horns was sitting next to an extremely tall, thin grey alien. They seemed deep in conversation. She didn't recognize either alien race, yet here they were ready to lend a hand. "I see them. I'm glad we've got so much help."

Steve nodded. "Me too, but I was talking about the bench. I came here not long after I woke up. I was devastated at the idea of having to live through this again." He stopped talking and looked her in the eye. "I didn't want to watch you die again, but I thought I couldn't change anything. I just sat there and started drawing. I wasn't at it long when the portal opened, and the Ancient One drug me through to Kamar-Taj. That's the day I learned we could make changes, but here we are at the same place. I'm looking at the same bench, facing the same fight."

"I was watching you that day. It's the first time I lost your GPS signal, but it wouldn't be the last," she said. "We've come a long way since then."

"A long way back to where it all fell apart," Steve said, his shoulders slumping like they did when the weight of the world rested too heavy on his shoulders. Natasha hated seeing him this way.

"We won here before," she whispered. "We'll do it again if Thanos gets this far."

"Did we? Tony didn't win. Pepper and Morgan didn't win. Nat, she's pregnant. It times out right. Pepper's expecting Morgan right now. What if-"

"Don't," Natasha said firmly. "Don't go there. This isn't exactly the same. This time, we had warning. We're ready, Steve."

Steve kept staring out the window. "I was standing out there alone after the building crumbled. I didn't know if the others were even alive, and it didn't even matter. I was going to kill Thanos or die trying then you know what happened? I heard a voice. It was Sam's. 'On your left,' he said. The portals started opening all over the battle ground and I wasn't alone, but I didn't have you." He turned to face Natasha and pulled her into his arms. "If we win today, if our friends are still standing when Thanos has fallen, in my heart, I'll know it's because you're here by my side." He kissed her cheek.

Natasha smiled as she dug deeper into his embrace. "Putting a lot of faith in my abilities, Steve."

"I just know we're better together. I love you, Nat. No matter what happens out there, it was worth it to have you with me. You're my right partner."

Natasha chanced a look into his eyes. "Moment of doubt over? Because, we've gotten a lot more company since you've been up here taking your little trip down memory lane. There are aliens I never even imagined and they're all here for one thing. They're waiting to make their stand with Captain America. You're legendary now, Steve. Stories of what you've done have gone all over the galaxy. Let's show them what you've got."

There were too many of them to meet in the hangar, so Steve stood on top of a quinjet and spoke into a microphone. Tony was back. He was standing right beside Steve. Natasha loved these moments. She'd never admit it, even under torture, but hearing her husband encouraging the troops was one of her favorite things. She stood just to the right of the jet near Rocket as the large crowd of intergalactic warriors hung on Steve's every word.

"Today is our final stand," Steve said. "Many of you have faced Thanos on the battlefield. Many of you have watched him murder innocent lives in his quest for balance. I've seen what this tyrant can do, what he wants to do. I lived it, but the cosmos has given us a gift-a second chance, a do-over. We are going to take full advantage of it. There will be no more planets decimated in his wake. No more families split apart. Today, we stand together. We fight together," he paused and looked directly at Natasha. She smiled at him and nodded. He raised his fist in the air. "Thanos's tyranny ends with us. We win together."

The crowd erupted into cheers. Rocket leaped in the air, waving his gun, before addressing Natasha. "He's good at this."

"The best there is," she said, adding her own applause to the chorus.

Steve hadn't even gotten down from the quinjet's roof when Natasha heard a familiar voice on her com. "He's here," Fury said. "We are engaging now. We've taken out four ships, but the largest has sent out smaller ones. Carter's carrier is going after the stragglers, but you have incoming."

"Destination?" Natasha asked.

"They're on target for yours. No need to move. Thanos is after the compound. He's coming for you."

"We'll be ready," she said, just as the first dots appeared in the sky.

Everyone saw them at once and hundreds of warriors got into their own offensive stances. They were going to rush those ships and take out as many as they could. Hundreds of others took defensive stances, ready to support the front line. Natasha didn't need to look to know which option Steve had taken. She took off running towards the others.

Tony was the most visible. He, Sam, Carol, and Rhodey were in the air ahead of the charging soldiers. Steve would be at the front of that line. She was going to join him.

As the Outriders shot from the ships, Steve shouted and threw his shield towards the first. Before his shield had even returned, he sent an astral shield on the same trajectory. He could hear the shouts of his fellow soldiers as they began fighting the on-slaught of enemies. They worked in a perfect synchrony as if they'd been fighting together for years. Some of them had, he supposed. Some had faced Thanos long before he turned his sights on the infinity stones, and they were fighting with the same desperate determination he had. Bucky was beside him working in tangent with Lady Sif to take down another outrider.

Even in the sea of unfamiliar faces, he saw several of his teammates, but he didn't see his wife. He knew she was out in the midst of them somewhere fighting just as hard, so he kept going taking out one after until he could find one of the power players.

Corvus Glaive got his attention first, not because he was fighting, but because he wasn't. He was holding his dead wife. So, this time things happened a bit in reverse. Proximus was down. Steve threw his shield towards Corvus, intentionally avoiding a direct hit. Corvus raised his eyes.

"I don't want to kill you. Join us. Take me to Thanos," Steve said, trying to offer the son of Thanos a chance at surrender.

Corvus raised his weapon. "I have no reason to live. You're head on a platter will make a proper final gift to Thanos."

Before Steve could speak again, Nebula shot Corvus between the eyes. "He would never have turned. Follow us. I know where he will be."

Steve nodded his acknowledgement before following Nebula and Gamora further into the sea of Outlanders. Thor must have been nearby, because he joined the trio as they continued to fight their way through to one of the ships. He casually tossed Mojnir to Steve as they walked. "You can use this one. I'll use the one the elves made for this purpose," Thor said.

Steve gave him a slight smile. He was grateful Thor had listened when he told him to visit the elves and have the weapon made. "I had a feeling you'd like the new toy."

Natasha still couldn't get eyes on Steve, but she was grateful for her coms. As she battled through Thanos's army with Wanda by her side, she got the report from Fury. "Both of Project Insight's carriers have taken heavy damage. We're stranded until help can arrive, but not one of the remaining ships will touch the ground. They have all been thoroughly decimated, including Thanos's personal ship. Once you've taken out the invading army on the ground, we've won."

"Guess we've got a bit more clean up to do down here then," Natasha said.

"Thanos?" Fury asked.

"Still M.I.A., but I doubt we were lucky enough for him to be blown out of the sky. Hang in there. We'll send a rescue party once we've won," she said.

"Rogers' confidence is wearing off on you. Be careful, Romanoff. The battle isn't won until we have Thanos's body in a high security clearance morgue."

"You'll have it," she said, before lunging at another Outlander on her path to the front. Twith some assistance from Wanda, they took him out. "We need to get closer to Steve and the others. Can you get a visual?"

"I'll try," Wanda said before elevating herself slightly above the others. "Due east. We can get there, but we'll have to fight our way through."

Natasha shot another widow bite st the Outlander, rendering him incapacitated and nodded. "Let's move."

Clint raced to their location. "Thanks for getting high enough for me to see you, Wanda. I was fighting beside some aliens I couldn't understand. Makes tactical maneuvers a little complicated. What's the plan?"

"We keep killing these things until we get to Steve. You with us?" Natasha asked.

"Wouldn't be anywhere else. It looks like the big green guy has the same idea," he said, pointing towards the Hulk not far away. "We should probably take him with us. Thanos needs the kind of beat down only a Hulk can deliver."

They collected Bruce and kept moving through the battle field. As they moved east, there was an explosion behind them. One look over her shoulder confirmed Natasha's fear. The compound was down. She didn't bother heading back. Thanos and Steve were up ahead. Their new friends could deal with whatever was left behind.

Steve looked at the space ship in front of them and shook his head. "Why would he still be inside?"

"Because he likes to make an entrance," Gamora said. "Nebula's right. This is his personal transport ship. He's there waiting."

"Guess we shouldn't make him wait any longer," Tony said, lowering his visor. "Time to storm the castle."

Thor raised his newest weapon. "Storm breaker is all the storm we'll need."

"Just remember to aim for the head," Rhodey said, and Steve couldn't help the smile. They'd all paid close attention to his stories. They were ready.

"Carol and Thor will take point. The rest of us are back up," Steve said. "We need to work fast while we have the element of surprise."

As soon as Steve spoke, he heard the explosion. The compound was gone again. This was feeling all too familiar. "Tony, maybe you should head back. Make sure everyone is okay."

"Nobody's going to be okay unless we take out Thanos," Tony said. He raised his visor briefly and looked Steve in the eyes. "Don't think I don't know what your doing. You're trying to get me as far from Thanos as you can, but this where I'm supposed to be. There's no gauntlet, and I have no plans to sacrifice myself today. I'm just here to win. We've got this, Cap."

Steve shook his head. "You're going to be a dad."

"And, you and Red are going to be the godparents. Don't tell Happy though. I think he wanted the job. We do this together. On your mark, Cap. Give the order."

Tony lowered his visor. The others looked at Steve in anticipation, but before Steve could give the order, the ships door opened and Thanos exited his ship.

Thanos looked straight past his daughters and the other Avengers and laughed. "There you are, the famed leader of the galaxy. You don't look so special to me, Steve Rogers. I see only an ant that will soon be crushed beneath my boot. You are still just a puny mortal, and you've made my life's work so much harder than it had to be. Even my daughters fight at your side. I will miss them after I crush them for their insolence."

Nebula and Gamora rushed towards Thanos with their weapons in hand, but he merely batted them to the ground. Thor made a more valiant effort. He swung at the titan, but Thanos rebuffed his efforts. "I'll be keeping my head today," he said as he flung Thor backwards.

Just as Tony, Carol, and Rhodey rushed Thanos, Steve yelled. "Enough! You want to fight me, fight me!"

Thanos smiled. "I believe I will."

Steve flung Mjolnir at Thanos, but the titan managed to duck. The shiny hammer caught Thanos's attention. "So, it is true. You can wield the hammer of the gods."

"I've learned a trick or two," Steve said, raising his hand so the hammer would return. It didn't make it back to Steve, before Thanos lunged at him.

Steve knew he needed to act fast, so he moved his hands into position to conjure a spell he had never mastered. It worked. Within a millisecond, he managed to push the titan out of his body with an astral projection. "What sorcery is this?"

"Sorcery is the right word," Steve said, grunting slightly as he held his position. This was one trick he never fully mastered.

"You're a soldier, not a sorcerer," Thanos shouted.

From behind him, Steve heard the Ancient One's voice. "He is both, and he will be your undoing."

Steve was struggling to hold the titan in the astral plane. It took everything he had to keep the titan from returning to his body. When Doctor Strange and the Ancient One moved to his sides, he felt a lifting of the load. They were helping him maintain the spell. "You've already lost, Thanos. Your army is in chaos. Your ships are destroyed. Give up."

"Not until my mission is complete. You and your planet will pay for what you have taken from me," Thanos said.

"We have only taken control of our lives. You wanted to kill us," Steve said.

"To save you," Thanos shouted. "Balance, perfect balance is my gift to the universe. It must be achieved. The infinity stones would have made it easier, but I will still win." With those words, Thanos smiled.

Steve didn't see why he was smiling until it was too late. He was too focused on holding the spell. His first inclination something was happening came as he saw Tony shooting a laser behind him and Carol lunging at one of the figures. Steve didn't realize what was happening until he felt the blade go through his back. As he fell, he saw his attacker. Cull Obsidian was looking down at him even as Thanos returned to his own body.

Natasha could finally see Steve in the distance. He was standing between Strange and the Ancient One. They were winning. Thanos's body was on the ground then suddenly another figure was attacking Steve. She screamed as his body fell. She took off in a hard run, but she was too late. Thanos stood, grabbed Steve's body from the ground and flung him through the air.

Her heart was pounding as she raced to her husband's side. She barely registered Wanda's red glow as the Scarlett Witch flew towards Thanos. She barely registered Wanda, Carol, Bruce, and Tony wrestle the titan to the ground, and she didn't even care when Thor managed to take Thanos's head from his body. It didn't matter to her that Clint's arrow now rested in Cull Obsidian's chest. All she cared about was Steve.

She checked his pulse. There was none. Immediately she started compressions. Fifteen reps, two breaths, another fifteen, two more breaths. She kept going, only checking his pulse after four sets then starting again. As she pressed her clasped hands into his chest, she cried. "Don't do this. Come back to me, Steve. I need you."

Two more breaths, another set of compressions, then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was a cold metal hand. Bucky was kneeling beside her, staring at her. "Nat, you have to stop."

Natasha didn't listen. More breaths followed by more compressions. Soon, the others were kneeling around Steve. She knew they'd given up. They wanted her to call it, but she couldn't. Steve wouldn't give up on her. He wouldn't give up on any of them. As she did another set of compressions, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I." Compression. "Can." Another compression. "Do." Two more compressions in quick succession. "This all day."

Two more breaths and she started her compressions again. She made the mistake of looking into Wanda's eyes. Her friend was crying. "Don't," Natasha said. "Don't you dare grieve for him while I'm trying to save him."

"Nat, you don't have to be strong right now," Wanda whispered. "We're here for you."

"And, I'm here for him. Don't try to stop me," Natasha said, adding extra force into the final compression.

As she blew the next two breaths, Tony leaned in closer. "Okay, if this is what you need to do, do it. We're here for you. We've got you, Red. Go on. Keep going. If you get tired, I'll take over then Clint then Thor. Whatever you need."

Natasha just nodded. She couldn't respond to Tony's words. He was just trying to placate her. They'd given up, but she couldn't. She put her fingers on his artery to check for a pulse again. Her hands were covered with his blood. The wound left by Cull Obsidian was still oozing. Another hand covered her own. This time it was a woman's hand. Frigga whispered into Natasha's ear. "Sweet child, I know you can do this all day, but I think I have a better way."

Natasha didn't move, but she watched as the older woman opened a bottle very similar to the one Steve had brought back from Asgard a few years earlier and poured it's contents down her still unconscious husband's throat. "Give the potion a moment," Frigga said, her voice still as soothing as it had been when it was only a whisper."

Natasha didn't breath. She just stared at Steve's lifeless body. When her fingers felt the pulse, she looked up. His eyelashes were fluttering slightly. "Steve?"

He coughed slightly before opening his eyes. "Did we win?"

Natasha looked around at her teammates. She could still hear a few skirmishes going on in the background, but Thanos was dead. The Avengers were alive. "We won, Steve. We won. You did it."

"Doesn't feel like I did it. Thanos?"

"Thor went for the head," Tony said. "It was a team effort, but he's really gone. You just rest up. The queen of Asgard had a trick up her sleeve that should have you on the mend natasha turned to Frigga. "Thank you. I don't know what that was, but it worked."

"Loki and I have been doing our research while waiting for this day to come. It was his idea to attempt to speed up time on the potion , so we would have another batch," Frigga said. "I am just grateful it worked."

Clint shook his head and looked at Thor. "Well, I'll be damned. I was pretty disgusted at having to fight next to your brother, and his magic saved the day. Who'd have thought?"

"Who, indeed?" Tony said, laughing. He was joined in his laughter by the others. Relief covered their faces, but Natasha barely noticed.

She was still squeezing Steve's hand when her coms went off again. "Romanoff, report? There are two crews stranded in space, and we'd like to know we didn't destroy two very expensive helicarriers for no reason," Fury said.

Natasha smiled. "Happy to report the ground mission was a success. Thanos is dead. We'll send you that rescue ship. Just hold tight."

"Glad to hear it, Romanoff."

"Rhodey and I will oversee the rescue personally," Tony said, "then we'll assess the damages. Looks like the Avengers are going to need a new place to live. Pepper and I just bought this place by the lake. We were going to use it as a summer place, but it'll do for a temporary home for super heroes for the moment. Guess my baby will be born into a Thanos free world thanks to you guys. I'm grateful."

"Me too, Tony. I've never been more grateful for anything in my life," Steve said. "We did it." He squeezed Natasha's hand. "We're really free now. What do you want to do?"

"Right now? Get my husband back to full health, go home, cuddle in front of a movie, and wait until the world needs saving again," she said. "And, when it does, we'll be there. We'll all be there. Thanks to you."

The end.