During the Ultron situation while some of the others were retrieving what would eventually become Vision, and Tony was shutting down the internet to prevent Ultron from spreading, Thor had gone on some kind of Asgardian vision quest. When he returned he warned the team about an even greater threat just on the horizon, and how six cosmic stones would play into it. The team took the seriousness of the warning to various degrees, not writing it off in any way, but Tony for example didn't put much stock into 'magical' visions or magic in any form. Peggy however had the knowledge and experience not to overlook Thor's warnings.
After Wanda came into their lives, and after getting to see her powers first hand, Peggy made her way over to Bleecker Street to see an old friend. She'd wanted to ask for help in training Wanda in her powers, having had the feeling that Wanda's powers could be magical in some way, and knowing that if anyone could help her granddaughter it would be her old friend. Peggy had been deeply saddened to learn from Wong, upon her arrival at the Sanctum, that her friend had died. Wong introduced her to her friend's successor and Peggy had to admit she was not impressed.
There were things in the world that existed and no one had a clue were out there. Magic existed, demons and aliens existed, people with extraordinary powers excited, so if Thor said a half dozen space rocks were a pending threat, Peggy was going to take it seriously. The Mind stone was currently embedded in Vision's forehead, so at least they knew where one of the stones was, but in order to lessen the threat headed their way they needed to know where they others were. Peggy entrusted Thor with finding the rest of the stones and bringing them back to Earth, back to her, for safekeeping.
When discussing the stones and the threat they possessed, Vision didn't hesitate to offer up his stone's destruction. Wanda, according to Vision, had the power to destroy the stone if it came down to it. This upset Wanda, she didn't want to kill her friend, she couldn't bear that. This of course triggered a debate about what exactly gave Vision his sentience. Ultron had been sentient without the stone hadn't he? Didn't that mean that Vision was Vision and the stone had nothing to do with who he was? If they could somehow remove the stone, he would remain Vision, wouldn't he? Tony was at a loss for how to do this. Vision had become something far beyond his original creation. But Natasha had an idea. Though she never said it to her cousin's face, Natasha knew there was someone out there smarter than Tony by leaps and bounds. Someone who would love to meet Vision, a living, sentient being made of Vibranium.
Natasha didn't like leaving the team short handed, but Wanda insisted on going to Wakanda with Vision, and she wasn't about to allow her daughter to go without her. Her mother had U.N. business to handle with T'Challa. Steve was already there visiting Bucky, and if she brought Peter as well that would leave the team missing some pretty key members. Clint and Tony insisted they could handle things if the team was needed, and Sharon offered to step into Peggy's shoes and babysit to make sure things ran smoothly while they were away. So, the arrangements were made for the Carters trip to Wakanda. May couldn't get the time off work but she let Natasha take Peter because she knew it was an incredible opportunity.
When Steve traveled to Wakanda a jet was sent for him because Steve wasn't a pilot, or at least he wasn't a very good pilot, but Natasha was. She actually really liked flying, and she really liked teaching her kids how to fly as well. It was one of those skills that she insisted, "you should have just in case because you never know when it will come in handy." It also gave her the perfect set up for teasing Steve, "You don't want to find yourself crashing into the sea and winding up frozen in ice for decades."
T'Challa had sent her upgrades for the quinjet which she was supposed to install once they were on route. While the King of Wakanda was engaging more on the world stage, he was still protective of his nation and selective regarding who was allowed access to his people. The upgrades would allow Natasha to fly the quinjet safely into Wakandan air space and through their defenses. As they approached the coordinates she was given Natasha was in awe of the breathtaking beauty of the land below them, and the stunning mountain range in front of them. When Natasha was given the coordinates she was also given a warning, which she did not share with the others. As they grew closer and closer to the mountain range with no signs of slowing their speed or increasing their altitude, Natasha smirked.
"Aunt Nat." Peter said as the quinjet headed towards the mountain. "Aunt Nat, there's a mountain." Peter started nudging at Natasha's shoulder. "Aunt Nat! Mount…"
The quinjet flew through a barrier of some sort and emerged into the heart of Wakanda. Natasha doesn't have to look over her shoulder to know that Peter is standing there with his mouth open, a look of total shock and awe on his boyish face. Natasha's smirk softened a little into a warm smile, and then she chuckled when she heard tisking behind her.
"Really poppet," Peggy says as she walks over to stand beside Peter. "Why do you get so much amusement out of startling people?"
"It's funny." Natasha answers as she pilots the quinjet to the landing site.
T'Challa and his sister, and their personal guards are there to greet them. Natasha can feel eyes on her as introductions are underway because she is seen as the greatest threat in the group, even in Wakanda the Black Widow is well known. She introduces Wanda as her daughter and Peter as her nephew, which honestly she liked a lot better than telling people he was simply her girlfriend's nephew. After greetings and introductions T'Challa invites everyone inside saying that they'll be shown where they'll be staying before they get down to work.
"Special Agent Ross is pushing for extradition to the Hague." T'Challa says as the group begins heading inside.
Peggy sighs and then firmly replies, "I know, which is why I'm here. He's an annoying little man." She makes a slight face as if she's just tasted something unpleasant. "We'll soon have this worked out, Your Majesty. We are grateful for your assistance in all of this, it means a great deal to us, your willingness to help James."
Natasha is about to follow when the person who's gaze she'd felt linger on her finally spoke up.
"Kiska," James "Bucky" Barnes calls out in a low grumbly voice.
"Volk." They never knew each other's names. She didn't even know if he had known she was the Black Widow. She'd had no idea he was the Winter Soldier until the attack on SHIELD. She knew he was dangerous, a threat, that he worked for the other side, but not that he was the fucking boogyman hiding the dark shadows of every SHIELD agent's nightmares. He'd started calling her Kiska, pussy cat, after she scratched up his back hard enough to draw blood. And she'd taken to calling him wolf because of the way he would bare his teeth and growl when they'd have sex. When she turns to face him Natasha is startled by his appearance, not that she let it show, her expression remained warm and neutral. It wasn't the tartan tunic he was wearing, or the fact that his arm was missing, but the look on his face that Natasha found surprising. She wouldn't say he looked at peace, but he certainly didn't look quite so haunted. "How are you?"
Bucky took a moment to think before replying, "I'm me, and I'm alive, Steve says that's a good thing. So..." He shrugs, and then shifts his gaze from Natasha to the teenagers and synthezoid lingering behind her, he eyes them all, but mostly the girl. Then he looked at Natasha again. "You have a daughter?"
Natasha nods, there's a joyful smile on her lips and pride in her eyes. "I do." She watches him look at Wanda again, his head tilts a little, and she can't help but laugh. "Did you seriously just do the math in your head?" He blushes and she shakes her head, her smile shifting to one of amusement. "Izvini volk, she isn't yours."
Natasha is surprised to see disappointment in his eyes, but before she can comment on it, Steve appears. He greets them all with a warm smile, then tells Bucky that everyone is waiting on him, and since this meeting was about him he really needed to be there. Natasha watches as Steve and Bucky head inside, wonders if anyone else has worked out that Steve's in love with his best friend, and then smiles when she feels her kids flank her on either side. "Come on, let's get settled into our rooms before we take Vision to meet with Princess Shuri."
"Momma?" Wanda says after she and Peter exchange a look as they trail after Natasha. "Is he…"
"A part of my past, poppy." Natasha tells them. "Let's leave it at that."
They are given a bungalow on the palace grounds to stay in as a family. It's easily the most stunning place Natasha has ever stayed in, and she'd traveled the world, so that's saying a lot. Every room opened up to allow the breathtaking landscape to become a part of the space, be it the palace, the city beyond, or the untouched land. After they were given time to settle in, their young Dora Milaje Initiate guide led them to Shuri who was beyond excited to begin her work with Vision. Once the techno babble reached the point where she felt as if her head would explode, Natasha excused herself, knowing everyone was safe while in Shuri's presence, and made her way to where the 'What to do with James Barnes a.k.a the Winter Soldier' meeting was being held.
How many times over the last couple of decades had the Black Widow and the Winter Soldier crossed paths and ended up in bed together? Iran was the first time, and the only time she hadn't known he was an enemy agent. She hadn't known that little fact until Odessa when he shot her to get to his target, leaving behind the nasty scar on her lower abdomen. Natasha should have known better after that, but there had just been something dangerously delicious about the whole affair, something thrilling that seemed almost addictive. Liechtenstein, which if she did the math could have resulted in Wanda. Singapore, Ireland, Panama, and the last time they'd been together, South Africa. Each time Natasha knew it was wrong and each time she said to hell with it and fell into the one armed man's bed.
The U.N., as well as people like Evertt Ross and even Tony wanted reassurances that James Barnes wasn't living it up in the lap of luxury while he was receiving treatment for his Solviet brainwashing, conditioning, and tourture. Ross wanted Bucky transferred to a proper prison for war criminals, and honestly so did Tony, but at least he was willing to admit what happened to Bucky and what he was turned into wasn't his fault, and he should receive the medical help he needed. The Wakandan doctors overseeing Bucky's rehabilitation told them during the official meeting that they were successful in deprogramming Bucky's trigger words, even asking Natasha if she would use them to demonstrate since she could speak them with a flawless Russian accent. The fact that her voice would also be a familiar one to him was a bonus. So, for several tense moments Natasha put herself between Bucky and her mother as she read off a list of words.
Nothing happened, Bucky remained Bucky and Natasha smirked a knowing smirk when Steve threw his arms around his friend and hugged him. Bucky's doctors then went on to explain that there was still much to do as far as the level of trauma and PTSD Bucky still needed to work through. While it seemed the Winter Soldier could no longer be triggered, Bucky was still a high level combatant who could be triggered by his emotional trauma. They were requesting that Bucky be allowed to continue his treatment in Wakanda. That's when T'Challa took them out to where Bucky lived, a hut in a nearby village where he worked hard labor alongside the heardsmen. The children seemed to like him, and when Natasha asks what they're calling him, T'Challa tells her, "The White Wolf." Shuri, who is rather protective of Bucky, had joined them after finishing her preliminary work with Vision. She's played a large part in his recovery, and when Peggy thanks her the girl shrugs and says, "Apparently, I have a soft spot for broken white boys. Or at least that one," She shifts her gaze from Bucky to Ross before looking at Peggy and continting. "I'm not sure if I like the Colonizer."
Natasha liked the girl a lot.
"Can I ask you a question?" Natasha asks Bucky when they have a moment alone.
Bucky is looking out over the calm water of the lake outside of his home and shrugs. "That's why you're here isn't it? To ask questions about me so you can decide whether I should be left here or put in a cage?"
"Well," Natasha replies. "Now I have two questions. Do you think you should be put in a cage?"
"Yes." Bucky answers honestly.
Bucky's guilt over what he's done is written all over his face. Natasha watches him for a moment longer and then says, "When I told you Wanda wasn't yours you looked disappointed. Why?"
"For a moment, it was nice to think I'd put something good into the world for a change." Bucky answers.
Natasha blinks, and for a moment she isn't thinking about what that statement means to Bucky, but is wondering if Dottie Underwood ever had that same thought. Shaking her head to clear that random, out of place thought away before she could dwell on it, she focuses on Bucky again. "Maybe, someday, you'll get that chance. My Uncle Michael did." He turns to look at her and she quickly adds. "But not with me, I'm with someone and it's the real thing, so whatever we had, it's in the past."
There was that disappointed look again, but it was quickly followed by a look she couldn't quite identify when Steve called out to them. It was time to head back to the city. Peggy's final recommendation to the U.N. would be that James Barnes should be allowed to continue his sentence and treatment in Wakanda, where he would be truly rehabilitated.
Once the Bucky part of their trip was out of the way, they could focus on Vision and the social reasons they were there. Shuri had questions about Natasha's Black Widow suit, and the redhead was more than willing to answer them. "Tony and I designed it together, but he did most of the work on it."
"Stark, yes, he's good." Shuri smiled at the older woman brightly over the dinner table and said, "But I'm better. His tech is meant for a tank, but you're all elegance and grace. I could upgrade it for you if you'd like."
Tony would have a fit but Natasha returned the smile and agreed. "I'd be honored, Shuri."
Natasha spends time with her family exploring Wakanda but she also gets up before everyone else to train with Okoye, which her kids don't understand. So Natasha explains that not only is it an incredible honor to have Okoye ask if she wanted to train with her, but also that, "Because of the way I fight, it's important that I have a large variety of fighting styles to call on. If I were to come across an opponent who has studied my primary fighting style, I'd be in a lot of trouble, so I always have a style or two in my back pocket just in case. Plus, there's also an advantage to knowing a style of fighting that my teammates or partner doesn't, because it opens up the range of possibilities that we'll succeed."
"Is that why you don't teach Peter and I the same techniques?' Wanda asks sleepily from her Nonna's cuddles on the sofa after Natasha has joined them for breakfast.
Natasha smiles and nods. "Yes, I teach you complementary techniques that will allow you each to back each other up, plus your powers and tech are vastly different so you need to know how to fight to your strengths and weaknesses in different ways."
Wakanda was breathtaking and remarkable, and Natasha fully understood the weight of their presence there. In the past outsiders had meant nothing but trouble for the nation and its people. Outsiders were thieves looking to pillage and plunder their resources and artifacts, outsiders tried to assert their will over the country, to dominate and grow fat on the wealth Wakanda could bring them. Natasha, like her mother, wanted to prove they were allies and could be trusted. There were those in Wakanda who were leery of the Black Panther's new relations with the Avengers, and those unsure of their King's choice to step onto the world's stage. There were also those who felt this change was long overdue, those who felt they should have embraced a larger global presence long ago. There were also a few who agreed with the usurper and thought Wakanda should show the world their true might. Natasha understood the decialte political dance the Avengers found themselves in with the King of Wakanda and the Black Panther.
Of course the delicate work of forging bonds of alliance would be interrupted by the pending threat of universal annihilation. Natasha had been elated when she'd been asked if she'd like to spend the day with one of Wakanda's most prestigious dance troupes. She loved every moment of it, even agreeing to dance herself when asked after explaining her own training and passions. She was just finishing one of her more complex routines when the air suddenly filled with a strange crackling sensation. The hairs on Natasha's arms rose as her skin prickled and goose pimped. She exchanged a look with her Dora Milaje companion and knew the other warrior woman felt it too. The two took up defensive potions after ordering the dancers to move to safety. Natasha was tossed one of the Dora Milaje's weapons, a bowstaff of sorts, and smirks as she watches a pinprick of golden light swirl larger until it opens into some kind of portal. She watches, tense and ready to fight, as a man in navy blue pants and tunic with a high collared red cape walks out of the portal.
"Natasha Carter," The man with black hair, silver at his temples, and neatly trimmed facial hair says. "The universe needs you to come with me."
"Like hell." Natasha replies, ready to spring into a fight.
"Whoa, whoa, Nattie, stand down!" Tony says as he steps out of the portal next, along with Bruce who no one had seen since he randomly took off following Ultron. "I told you that the Terminator line wouldn't work on her, Doc."
"Tony?" Natasha by no means stands down, only pauses to see where this is going. "Bruce? What's going on?"
Bruce steps forward and says, "Thanos is coming."
Doctor Steven Strange explained that he was something called the Sorcerer Supreme, which caused Tony to ask if that was anything like being the Supreme from American Horror Story, which caused Natasha to smirk and Peggy to roll her eyes at her nephew before shushing him. Apparently being Sorcerer Supreme is what had allowed Strange to open a magic portal into Wakanda, which did little to alleviate T'Challa's concerns over someone having the ability to walk into his kingdom anytime they wished. Peggy did her best to keep everyone on topic, Thanos and the Infinity Stones. "Vision has the Mind Stone." Peggy says after Strange explains what they are and what they can do. "And Thor is in possession of the Space Stone. What of the other four?"
"Uh, well, Thor got a little distracted when his evil older sister made parole and brought on Ragnarok, dystorying Asgard." Bruce reported as he nervously rubbed his neck. "Before sending me back to warn you that Thanos was making his move to assemble his gauntlet he and Loki were going after the Soul Stone."
"Thor's trusting Loki?" Steve questioned with an unhappy look on his face.
Bruce shrugged. "They bonded when Odin died and Hela tried killing them." Then he looks at Peggy and tells her, "Thor was certain that Thanos has the Power and Reality stones."
"Assuming Thor knows the location of the Soul Stone, and Thanos has those two, then that just leaves the Time stone." Natasha points out.
That's when Strange reveals that he has the Time stone. Natasha had sensed some tension between the man and her mother when they'd all gathered for this little meeting. Strange seemed cocky and arrogant, nothing her mother hadn't faced down before, but Natasha was sensing something more than just Strange's abrasive attitude. Whatever was happening between Peggy and Strange was put on hold for a second when Shuri arrived. She reported that thanks to her work with Vision she'd created small spheres that would contain the power of the stones, and then proceeded to show they worked by revealing the Mind stone nested safely inside one. Natasha's thoughts went to Vision and her daughter who had a very strong bond with their synthezoid friend. Shuri reassured them that the stone's removal didn't damage Vision, and that he was simply offline while she replaced the stone with a new focal point. Wanda was with Vision, and honestly a part of Natasha wanted to tell Shuri to keep her there. Natasha knew the approaching battle would be the most challenging fight the Avengers had ever faced, and Natasha didn't want her little girl involved in the chaos of that. But Natasha also knew that Wanda was the most powerful of them all, and could very well be their best chance at winning against this cosmic level threat.
Natasha was pulled from her thoughts and concerns for her daughter by the tone of her mother's voice. Peggy wanted the Time stone. Strange didn't want to give it to her.
"Something about your presence here, Director Carter, is preventing me from seeing the probabilities." Strange tells her. "It's as if any reality where you are present when Thanos attacks has yet to be written."
"If you're worried about the odds, Dr. Stranger," Steve says with a proud look in his eyes. "Always bet on Peggy Carter."
"Cap's right." Tony nods. "Take it from someone who actually gambles, always put your money on Aunt Peggy."
Strange still wasn't sure, not until Peggy said something to him in what Natasha thought sounded like some version of Gailic, but was far older than she'd ever come across in her studies. The look of shock and awe on Strange's face was almost comical as he said, "You know her true name."
"Of course I do." Peggy huffs at him. "She and I were friends, Doctor. She trusted me. I trusted her. I'm not asking you to trust me blindly, I'm asking you to trust your trust in her."
Natasha watches with awe and pride as the stubborn man opens the large medallion on his chest and floats a glowing green stone into the sphere held in the palm of her mother's hand. Then Peggy turns to them and says, "We protect the stones we have at all cost while trying to get whatever stones Thanos has. This fight isn't going to be like anything you've faced before. From what Thor has told me, and what we've just heard from Doctor Strange, we're about to go to war with a cosmic warlord." She pauses for a moment to allow the weight of her words to sink in, and then continues, "We need to take this fight someplace where it will do the least amount of damage."
"How about this," Tony said as he displays a map with a sole island in the middle of miles and miles of ocean.
"Tony?" Steve questions.
"Avengers Island." Tony smirks.
Natasha blinks. "Does Pepper know you bought an island?"
Tony's smile fades instantly. "Not yet, I was going to tell her after I'd convinced her to have a baby with me."
Natasha blinks again, her head spinning. They were standing in what was essentially a war room discussing how to prevent the destruction of the universe while her cousin's biological clock was apparently ticking away. "If we survive this thing maybe you should marry her first?"
"We're working on it." Tony huffs. "It's hard to pin down a date when shit keeps trying to wreck the Earth or the Universe or Reality itself."
"Do Earth's Mightiest always talk this much while planning a battle?" Okoye asks with exasperation in her voice.
The Avengers all nod and reply, "Yes."
They never get the chance to take the fight to a safer location. Ships appear closing in on Wakanda and they have no choice but to make their stand here. There's a half hearted attempt to move Angie to a safe place, but she helps herself to one of Natasha's guns and replies, "I've been married to the world's greatest spy for decades, do you really think I don't know how to protect my family?" T'Challa reassures that the populated areas of Wakanda will remain protected, and that Angie and Peggy will be safe. Her friend's reassurance helps, but Natasha still doesn't like having her mothers so close to what could very well be the end of the world. At least, she thought as she rode out to the battlefield, May was safe at home. Closing her eyes, Natasha prays, preparing herself for what was about to happen, centering herself, steeling herself. Then she opened her eyes and charged into the fight of her life.
The Black Widow's first kill against the Black Order is Corvus Glaive. Staff weapon against staff weapon, her dancers agility allowing her to dodge and counter his assault until she finds her opening, and plugges his own weapon deep into his chest. Then she fights her way through some Chitauri foot soldiers until she comes across another of Thanos' vanguard, Proxima Midnight, standing over Wanda.
"You'll die alone." Proxima's voice is cold.
Natasha's is fire. "She's not alone." When Proxima turns to face her Natasha prepares herself to fight. "Get the fuck away from daughter, bitch."
Okoye appears behind Proxima and Natasha smirks, which only seems to enrage the woman more. Proxima is fueled by her fury over Corvus's death. Each blow feels as if Natasha's been hit by a wrecking ball, but this alien bitch had the nerve to threaten her child! Fighting to protect Wanda and Peter gave Natasha the strength to hold her own against an opponent that should have easily overpowered her. It gave her the strength to keep Proxima's blade from her throat until she was pulled off Natasha by a force Natasha recognized as Wanda's scarlet magic and thrown into an oncoming tank. Blue alien blood splattered across Natasha's face as she struggled into a sitting position, gasping for air, she watched her little girl fall back on her ass in the sandy ditch they were in. Okoye was nearby panting for her own breath, an impressed expression on her face. Natasha smiles at Wanda proudly. "That's my girl."
From the air over their heads Tony sees how close Natasha comes to being killed and makes a decision. "Friday, activate the Tiny Dancer protocol."
Thor appears on the battlefield in a beam of rainbow light with a sentient tree and a talking raccoon at his side. Sadness rolls off him as lightning dances across his body. He gives the Soul stone to Natasha and then charges into battle with a roar fueled by grief. They have four of the six stones, each safe with a different Avenger. It wouldn't be long now.
As portals open and reinforcements arrive, the Black Order falls one by one, as do the Chitauri as their control ships are destroyed, but this has only been the first wave. The real fight for the universe arrives with a ship the size of Manhattan, which casts the battlefield under a shadow so thick it's as if night has suddenly fallen.
Thanos has arrived.
Meanwhile Peggy sends word to Wong that she's going to need him to make one more stop as he collects reinforcements. When he steps out of the portal he doesn't look happy as he cradles an orange tabby cat in his arms. "Thank you Wong. I hope fetching her wasn't too much of an inconvenience."
"Peggy?" Angie questions with an odd look on her face as she watches their daughter's cat leap from the magic man's arms to the war map table Peggy is standing at. "Why did you ask Mr. Wong to bring Nattie's cat?"
"Agent Goose has something I need." Peggy replies before focusing on the orange tabby. "Sufficient enough of a threat, don't you agree?"
Everyone in the room looks on as the cat appears to be taking things in, watching the fighting on the monitors, and the movements on the map. Goose's gaze then seems drawn to the large projection displaying the arrival of Thanos on Earth, and Natasha's location in regards to the mad titan. Goose turns to look at Peggy and then proceeds to rejergate what looks to be a mid-1990s pager through a cluster of purplish tentacles.
"Margaret?" Angie demands, eyes wide as she watches those purple tentacles retract back inside Goose before she begins cleaning her face with her paw.
"I'll explain later, love." Peggy reassures while pressing the button that would activate the signal for their ultimate reinforcement.
Thanos is both impressed and annoyed by the heroes of Earth. He even talks about using a few of them as replacements to create a new Black Order. As he floods the battlefield with more cannon fodder he respectfully praises Thor for his willingness to sacrifice his own brother in order to get the Soul stone from the Guardian. This enrages Thor, who uses the Space stone to open a portal that allows him to come at Thanos from above, using the force of his downward momentum to bury Stormbreaker into Thanos' shoulder. Thor's attack makes Thanos drop his gauntlet hand down to his side, giving Wanda the chance to take advantage of the distraction. She uses her power to try and retrieve the stones embedded in the gauntlet. The Reality stone comes away easy, but the power stone remains.
Even with just a single stone, Thanos' power is colossal. He swats and bats away the Avengers as easily as one shoos away a fly. He threw Natasha so hard she would have been seriously injured if not killed if she'd hit something, but she never even made it to the ground. Before it fully dawns on her what's happening, Natasha found herself encased inside an iron suit.
"Tiny Dancer Protocol has been fully activated." Came the female voice of Natasha's personal A.I.
"Charlotte?" Natasha questioned.
"Greetings and salutations, Natasha." Charlotte replied.
Natasha wasn't sure how she felt about this. She had told Tony over and over she didn't want a suit, but seeing as the damn thing just saved her life she couldn't be too mad. The suit was more like Peter's than Tony's, it wasn't meant to be a tank. It allowed her to still move and fight in her Black Widow style, it just added another layer of protection and a few cool bells and whistles. The Widow's Bites the suit produced were far more powerful than her normal ones, so much so that she could see the muscles in Thano's arms twitch painfully as the electricity discarded from the disks. Eventually, when a merged version of Bruce and Hulk reappear, they are able to get the final stone away from Thanos, and once this happens Thanos unleashes hell from his spaceship. It keeps the Avengers separated, constantly moving. Black Panther and the Wakandans have no choice but to fall back to protect their country and their people as the weapons fire rains down on the protective shield. Natasha tries desperately to reach her kids, to get to Wanda and Peter, but then she catches a streak of light across the sky. Something, the iron suits various A.I.s couldn't identify what, flies right into Thanos' ship. Multiple times that steak of light darts in and out of the ship until the whole thing goes up in a massive ball of flames.
With the barrage of weapons fire stopped, Natasha could hear the call bellowed across the battlefield by Steve. "AVENGERS…. ASSEMBLE!"
The Avengers all had the same desire. They wanted the threats of Thanos and the Stones themselves gone, never to return. It took more brutal fighting, though the newcomer made it look easy when she got the purple giant in a headlock that brought him to his knees, before they were finally able to work out how to end this. While Captain Marvel kept Thanos on the ropes, and with Strange's help and Wanda's powers as the thread to bind them all together, each Avenger used their respective stones to bring a final end to Thanos.
Natasha watches as the shock of his reality crosses Thanos' face. Defeat was never something he had ever known until that very moment. The look of anguish and agony on his face before he crumbled into dust along with his army and his ships would be another moment of this whole ordeal that would haunt Natasha's dreams for months to come. With the battle over and won, Natasha went to her kids, needing to pull them into her arms and hold them as close and as tight as she could. She finds them together, on their knees in the dirt, arms wrapped around each other. She sits beside them as her new suit's helmet retracts and pulls them close. They stay like that for a long time, silently clinging to one another.
"Aunt Nat?" Peter finally speaks up.
"Yes little spider?" Natasha replies.
"Do you think Aunt May will ever let us go on vacation again after this?" Peter asks.
Natasha laughs. It's that kind of emotional release laugh that stretches on and on as tears roll down dirt and blood covered cheeks. When she's finally able to reign herself in Natasha answers him. "Not a fucking chance in hell, Petey. At least, not without her so she can try and keep us out of trouble."
It's Steve and Bucky who come across them as they make their way back to the shield borders. Steve offers his hands to the kids to help them up, pulling gently until they're on their feet. When Wanda sways a bit Steve puts his arm around her, drawing her closer to his chest in a safe and protective way. It's Bucky who offers Natasha a helping hand and she takes it easily. She smirks, "New arm?"
Bucky gives a slight nod before replying, "New suit?"
"It was a gift." Natasha replies as she puts her arm around Peter, tucking him close the way Steve had Wanda. Then they made their way back to where Peggy waited as magic portals opened all around them to take the majority of their reserves back to the compound. They would all regroup there, not wanting to overwhelm Wakanda and her frightened people with more superpower outsiders. Natasha hurt, everywhere, but thanks to Tony's surprise she wasn't nearly in as bad a shape as she had been following the Battle of New York.
As soon as the group walks into the room Angie has her arms around Natasha.
Natasha groans a bit, "Ma, I'm covered in mud, blood, and rhino shit."
"I don't care." Angie replies. She only lets go of her daughter to hug her grandchildren.
After Angie lets her go, Natasha makes her way over to Peggy and much to her surprise finds herself in her Mum's tight embrace. Peggy was still very much in Director mode, which is why Natasha hadn't expected the hug, but she easily melted into it.
"Alright poppet?" Peggy asks softly as she hugs her daughter. When this was all just an afterthought, when they were safe at home in their faded red brick brownstone, Peggy would finally allow the emotions to come. She would finally allow the crippling fear, concern, anger, guilt, and helplessness bottling up inside of her as watched her children and grandchildren fight hit her, and it will bring her to her knees.
"I'm fine, Mum." Natasha reassures.
When Peggy pulls away she eyes her daughter closely and then peers over Natasha's shoulder to look at Wanda and Peter with a mother's eye for any signs of harm. When she was satisfied that those of her children who were present were ok, Peggy steps back and smiles.
"Mum?" Natasha says, her head tilting a bit as a quizzical look passes over her alien blood splattered face.
"Yes love?" Peggy replies.
Natasha blinks. "Why is my cat here?"
"Goose isn't a cat." An unfamiliar voice says. "He's a Flerken."
Everyone turns towards the voice to find a gorgeous blonde woman in a red, blue, and gold uniform. Goose walks across the map tap and leaps into her arms, causing the woman to smile as she gently bumps her forehead to Goose's.
"I'd like you all to meet Captain Carol Danvers, U.S.A.F." Peggy says with a smile. "Also known as Captain Marvel."
"That streak in the sky," Steve asks the woman, "That was you?"
Carol nods.
Steve smiles, "Thanks for the save, Captain."
Natasha is frowning. "What do you mean my cat's not a cat? What the bloody hell is a flerken?"
Peggy pats her daughter's arm. "Don't be jealous, poppet. Goose was Carol's companion before she was Nickolas'."
"She?" Carol replies.
"She had a kitten a few months ago." Natasha explains. "Chewie, short for Chewbacca."
It felt a bit strange, having such a normal conversation after what they'd all just been through, but maybe that's what was keeping them all from crumbling under the weight of it all. When Tony arrives, Natasha kisses his cheek before throwing her arms around his neck. She thanks him for the suit. He holds her tight.
Over the next few weeks the Avengers return to Wakanda to honor those who sacrificed, including Loki, to defeat Thanos. Thor tells them what happened, how he was able to get the Soul stone. He speaks of Loki's determined smile and his finale words, "What is it that we both love most, dear brother, but me?"
Loki, despite his past, is honored as a hero.
The Battle of Earth will have long lasting consequences, ramifications they won't know the true measure of for a while, but for now Natasha focused on her family, getting to know new teammates, and reinforcing her bond with old friends. She also makes the decision that life is too unpredictable to wait for perfect moments or just the right time. She's going to ask May to marry her. As soon as May stops being freaked out over what happened in Wakanda.