When Bucky awoke the next morning, he discovered that he was by himself, a sheet half on him. Confused, he sat up, looking around the room, fully expecting Abigail to pop out of his bathroom. He strained his ears but heard nothing. She wasn't here. He got up, pulling the clothes he had discarded the night before on fast before walking out his bedroom door. He walked quickly down the hall, turned the corner, and stopped dead in his tracks at Abigail's room. Her door was wide open and a maid was in there, cleaning. His brows came together, and he was even more confused than before.

"She didn't tell you, did she?" a voice said from behind him. Turning, he saw Clint leaning on the open doorway of the room he had been staying in.

"Tell me what?" Bucky asked. Clint smirked ruefully, shaking his head slightly.

"That she was leaving," he answered. "Going to Wakanda to help the King out with certain missions." Bucky took it in. "I'm sorry she didn't tell you, she said she would." Bucky nodded. "She's also never been good at expressing her emotions," Clint added. "Getting attached was never part of her personality, but Nat and I kinda forced ourselves upon her." He paused again. "Give her time, give her space, I don't see this being the end."

"Why do you say that?" Bucky asked him.

"Did she come to your room last night?" Clint responded. Bucky nodded again. "If she didn't want to tell you, she would have avoided you completely. She probably intended on telling you but something else happened, I assume?" Bucky looked away from the other man's eyes down to the floor and that was enough for Clint to confirm what had happened. "Yeah, I really don't think that's the end."

Several months later...

Abigail was following a taller, white male to an old, rundown house. Three more men flanked her. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and her black tank top was tucked into her cargo pants. As they entered, she saw how grimy the place really was, but also noted the more than half a dozen women and girls cowering against the one wall.

"Mlete mbele!" the leader told one of the men behind her. He went over and grabbed a girl who looked like she was barely ten years old, dragging her over to Abigail, forcing her down to her knees. Abigail walked around the girl, acting like she was surveying her, her finger to her lips.

"Ni kiasi gani kwa msichana?" she asked the leader. He thought for a moment before answering.

"One thousand American," he told her. She smirked, pulling out a wallet from her side pocket. He didn't know that she also clicked on a tracking device that was placed on the flap of her pocket. That was the signal for Nakia and a few other women to come prepared. Abigail began counting out the cash for him before holding her hand out for him to take it. He reached for it and as he touched it, Abigail smiled up at him.

"We do have a problem though," she told him. He looked confused, fingers still on the cash in her hands. She leaned forward slightly. "I don't like the way you've treated these women," she whispered menacingly before reeling her fist back and punching him straight in the face. She grabbed his gun as he fell backward, holding onto his nose. She pulled the girl that had been in front of her back as she shot at two of the three guards, taking them out. The third one knocked her down, a knife to her throat. He barely grazed it when she flipped him over, pointed the gun at his head, but stopped for a moment as she heard crying and screaming coming from the one side of the room.

"Funika macho yoa!" she told them and the older women covered the eyes of the young girls in their midst. Abigail shot the man in the head before going to the leader, who was scrambling back and away from her.

"Please..." he started to beg, but he never got to finish, Abigail shooting him as well. Not even a full minute later, Nakia came in with two other women flanking her.

"You couldn't wait?" Nakia asked, arms crossing.

"I got too disgusted to wait," Abigal responded, tossing the gun onto the floor. "These girls need help." Abigail looked over at the women on the other side of the room. "Plus, I realized they sexually assaulted them too," Abigail looked back at Nakia. "Be happy they still have all of their bits." Nakia rolled her eyes as her the two women who had come in with her went over to give medical assistance to the women and girls.

Nakia and Abigail entered the Citadel to find T'Challa otherwise occupied. Caught off guard, the King opened his mouth for a moment before approaching Nakia to kiss her on the cheek.

"You are back early," T'Challa said to them. Abigail raised her eyebrow before her eyes shifted to the three men behind him. She ended up rolling her eyes as Tony waved at her, wiggling his fingers in a weird way. She noticed both Steve and Bucky were with him and chose not to look at them, instead refocusing back on the conversation in front of her.

"Someone couldn't wait for back up," Nakia told him, smirking towards Abigail.

"I said what I said," Abigail responded, nudging the woman next to her.

"So, they have all been... terminated," T'Challa said, not able to come up with a better word.

"They are, sir," Abigail answered.

"She said we should be happy that she didn't cut off their bits," Nakia told him. T'Challa's head snapped to Nakia and then back to the other woman in front of him.

"I'm afraid to ask what she would do with them," T'Challa said. Abigail opened her mouth to answer, but Nakia put her hand over it quickly.

"That is not an invitation, Lionness," Nakia said, smiling fully.

"Lionness?" Tony asked. He had wandered over to where T'Challa stood with the two women. Nakia had removed her hand from Abigail's mouth.

"I didn't come up with it," Abigail retorted, crossing her arms.

"She is very protective," Nakia said, smiling still.

"Sounds like you're gonna be a great mom someday," Tony said. "Actually, I need to borrow you for a moment," he told her before turning to T'Challa and saying, "Steve can finish up his chat with you, I assume." He looked over at Steve, as if confirming, but didn't wait for it. He put his arm around Abigail and they walked out of the room together.

"What was that about?" T'Challa asked Steve after a moment.

"He has a wedding invitation to give her," Steve answered, rolling his eyes. "But, let's get back to this vibranium deal." T'Challa nodded, coming back to the small circle to discuss the deal with Nakia by his side.

"Oh my God, congratulations, Tony!" Abigail squealed, hugging the older man as she held the invitation to his and Pepper's wedding in her hand. He hugged her back.

"Thank you," he said as they pulled away from each other. "You know, there is a plus one on there," he told her. She just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, it's just gonna be me," she said, eyeing the invitation in her hand again, smiling.

"Oh, so you won't be making any lion babies any time soon?" Tony asked her.

"You mean cubs?" she looked up at him, amusement on her face.

"Yeah, those," he said, waving his hand.

"No worries," she told him. "I'm not reproducing any time soon." She paused for a moment, eyeing the man before her curiously. "Are you asking because you want to know or for another reason?"

"Another reason mostly," he told her honestly. "You were running away." She looked back at the invitation in her hands, the amusement gone from her face. "You don't have to say so, you don't have to tell me why, but at some point, I think you should talk to him about why." She looked up at him again.

"You're defending the Winter Soldier?" she asked.

"I believe someone calls it forgiveness," Tony said. "And a certain Lionness showed me it wasn't all him." She huffed slightly. "We need his head on straight, something may be coming."

"Like what?" she asked him.

"Unknown," Tony answered. "But Thor has been gone a while, so we're a little worried." Abigail nodded.

"I'll talk to him," Abigail said. Tony gave her a skeptical look. "I will!"

"See, Clint told me what ha-" Tony began to say, but Abigail interrupted him.

"Tony!"

"Okay, okay," Tony said, his hands up. "We'll be staying here for the evening and leaving tomorrow afternoon, so you have time." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"I don't know how Pepper is gonna put up with you," Abigail told him.

"Imagine if we had kids," Tony said jokingly.

"Yikes!" Abigail responded.