Steve sat and watched Alice as she picked flowers in their small garden, enjoying these small moments they had with one another Steve laughed quietly when Alice threw him a flower and he placed it on top of his ear.

"You look cute!" she told him, laughing herself.

"I doubt that," he replied as she placed the bouquet in a vase and sat down beside him on the veranda that circled their home. "The garden looks great, I never knew you were a Gardner."

"I wasn't in DC! Had one plant pot in the house! It's not looking too shabby though." She agreed as she looked over the small patch of wild flowers. "You know all that wood you've cut for the fire, I was thinking, maybe you could build a little bridge? Put in a pond?" Steve grinned at her.

"I could do that," he agreed. "You keeping me busy?" he asked her knowingly and Alice simply shrugged. From inside the house Alice heard a ringing, a noise she wasn't used to. Looking at Steve she could tell he was as thrown as she was.

"Steve?" she asked as he gave her a tight smile.

"It's nothing Alice, you want some water?" he asked as he got up and went inside the house, Alice following him.

"What's that noise Steve? Is that, your phone? I didn't think…" stuttering she asked him again as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Steve put the glass down beside the sink and looked at her hesitantly.

"It's my old phone," he told her quietly. Alice stared at him, he had never told her that he'd brought his phone with him. She knew he had the one he spoke to Nat and others with when they went on missions but she hadn't known he'd brought his personal one with him. And it was charged!

"Answer it," she said calmly.

"Alice…" Steve started.

"Steve, answer it. It may be important." Steve hesitated once more before running to the bedroom. Alice felt like she had stood in the kitchen for an eternity before seeing Steve come through the door and towards her. Not saying a word he enveloped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I have to go," he told her. Alice looked up and smiled at him, he still had the flower on his ear. Pulling it from him and smelling it she placed it in her own hair.

"I know," she said. "You can build me that bridge when you come back alright?"

"Promise."

Edinburgh

Vision stood by the window as he gasped and held his hand to the Mind Stone in pain.

"Vis? Is it the stone again?" Wanda asked as she sat up in bed.

"It's as if it's speaking to me," he replied.

"What does it say?"

"I don't... I don't know. But something..." The stone trilled again and Vision flinched. Wanda took his face in her hands as Vision turned his head so he could kiss her left palm, then pressed Wanda's hand to the Mind Stone. "Tell me what you feel," Wanda gestured as her hand emanated her red swirling energy, creasing her brow in confusion she looked at him lovingly.

"I just feel you," she told him.

"So there's a ten AM to Glasgow to give us more time together before you went back." Wanda told Vision as they took a stroll through the city.

"What if I miss that train?" he asked.

"There is an eleven," she answered good naturedly.

"What if I missed all the trains? What if this time, I didn't go back?" he asked her.

"You gave Stark your word," Wanda couldn't keep the hope from her voice.

"I'd rather give it to you," Vision answered quickly.

"There are people who are expecting me too, you know. We both made promises."

"Not to each other," putting his hands on her shoulders Vision looked at her sternly. "Wanda, for two years, we've stolen these moments, trying to see if this could work. And... I don't know. You know what, I'm just gonna speak for myself. I, I... I think..."

"It works," Wanda finished for him.

"It works, then stay. Stay with me." He told her. Wanda looked down but then her eyes and attention drifted to her left. "Or not. If I'm overstepping…" Wanda stepped over to a better view of the TV in the kebab shop at which they had stopped in front of, drawing Vision with her. It showed coverage of the invasion of New York, the alien antagonists, and the disappearance of Tony Stark.

"What are they?" Wanda asked.

"What the stone was warning me about, I have to go." He told her quickly.

"No, Vision. Vision, if that's true… then maybe going isn't the best idea."

"Wanda, I…" Wanda stared in horror at the blade suddenly protruding through his chest, Corvus Glaive appearing behind him and throwing him down into the street.

"Vision!" Wanda cried out as she circled her hands, gathering up energy but was quickly knocked across the street by Proxima Midnight. Corvus Glaive pinned Vision down and dug the point of his glaive into Vision's forehead in an attempt to extract the Mind Stone. Wanda blasted them both away and quickly gathered Vision up in her arms, dragging them both to a concealed alleyway.

"The blade, it stopped me from phasing." He said with a pained voice.

"Is that even possible?" she asked.

"It isn't supposed to be, my systems are failing." Wanda held her hand over his gaping wound, using her magic to knit him back together. "I'm beginning to think... we should have stayed in bed."

Corvus Glaive suddenly arrived once more, knocking Wanda aside and grabbing Vision into the air. Flying away with Vision, they slammed against several walls along the way. Meanwhile, Proxima was engaging Wanda with her staff weapon and they too began to fight. As Corvus Glaive and Vision ricochet off the stone church tower and onto a metal-clad roof Proxima and Wanda fought below, staff weapon versus magic energy until Proxima used the blaster effect of her weapon to knock Wanda meters away. Hearing Vision's agonised cry Wanda built up enough power to throw Proxima through a burning lorry sliced in half by the split Stone beam. Flying up to the roof where Glaive had pinned Vision and was trying to remove the Mind Stone she shouted for him to get his hands off. Casting a bolt of magic throwing Corvus back through the wall and down a shaft, she flew the two of them away again but Proxima had already caught them with her weapon, causing them to fall from the air and down through the roof of a Train Station.

"Come on, come on! Come on, you gotta get up! You gotta get up, come on. Hey! Hey! We have to go."

"Please, please leave." Vision pleaded.

"You asked me to stay... I'm staying." Wanda told him sternly.

"Please," he tried once more.

"Get up," behind them Proxima and Corvus crashed through the roof and advanced towards them, brandishing their weapons. Wanda moved protectively in front of Vision as she built power in her hands. As an express train passed behind Wanda Proxima cocked her head as if aware of another's presence. Confused Wanda turned and looked over her left shoulder, as the last train car passed she could see a silhouette on the far side of the platform. Proxima threw her weapon at the shadowy figure but Wanda watched in shock as it was deftly caught just before the figure stepped from the shadows. Vision and Wanda looked on hopeful and relieved as Steve Rogers appeared. Wanda smiled as Sam Wilson swooped over them and kicked Proxima across the platform. Swooping around, he fired on Corvus as Steve threw Proxima's weapon to Natasha who turned her attention to Corvus, ducking under his swing and stabbing him in the gut. Steve scooped up Corvus's dropped glaive and held her off as Natasha helped with the fight.

"We don't wanna kill you but we will," Natasha told the two enemies who had finally been overthrown.

"You'll never get the chance again," Proxima told them as she and Corvus Glaive suddenly departed through a beam of light as they are beamed up.

"Can you stand?" Sam asked Vision as Steve helped him up also.

"Thank you, Captain." Vision said weakly.

"Let's get you on the jet," Steve said as Natasha closed the doors to the Quinjet she turned to Wanda.

"I thought we had a deal. Stay close, check in. Don't take any chances."

"I'm sorry, we just wanted time." Wanda answered sadly knowing deep down they never would again.

"Where to, Cap?" Sam asked Steve.

"Home."

Up State New York

Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes stood in front of the holographic visual of Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross.

"Still no word from Vision?" he asked.

"Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh," Rhodey answered simply.

"On a stolen quinjet with four of the world's most wanted criminals," Ross quipped.

"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?" Ross laughed in response.

"My God, Rhodes, your talent for horseshit rivals my own!"

"If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would've been right here." Rhodey crossed his arms angrily.

"I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel."

"That's right, and I'm pretty sure I've paid for that." Rhodey replied bitterly.

"You have second thoughts?" Ross asked him.

"Not anymore," Rhodey answered as the Avengers entered the room, Vision supported by Falcon.

"Mr Secretary," Steve greeted Ross calmly.

"You got some nerve I'll give you that," Ross reacted.

"You could use some of that right now," Nat interjected.

"The worlds on fire and you think all is forgiven?" Ross asked them all.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness and I'm way past asking for permission. Earth just lost her best defender. So we're here to fight." Steve took a step forward, looking right at Ross. "And if you wanna stand in our way... we'll fight you, too." Ross turned to Rhodey, ignoring what Steve had said.

"Arrest them," he told the other man.

"All over it," Rhodey said as he swiped off the hologram. "That's a court-martial." He quipped. "It's great to see you, Cap." Steve wrapped his arms round Rhodey.

"You too, Rhodey."

"Well, you guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of years."

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star." Sam commented dryly.

"Uh, I think you look great." Rhodes and Natasha looked round to see Bruce walking in from the opposite end of the room. "Uh... hey... Yeah. I'm back." Bruce told them nervously.

"Hi, Bruce." Nat almost whispered, her eyes glazing over.

"Nat," Bruce replied sheepishly.

"This is awkward," Sam whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"So we gotta assume they're coming back, right?" Rhodes asked the others as they all sat together.

"And they can clearly find us," Wanda added quietly as Bruce looked at Nat.

"We need all hands on deck, where's Clint?" he asked her.

"After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest."

"Who's Scott?" he asked nobody in particular.

"Ant-Man," Steve told Bruce as the pair both raised their brows.

"There's an Ant-Man and a Spider-Man? Okay, look… Thanos has the biggest army in the universe. And he is not gonna stop until he... he gets... Vision's Stone."

"Well then, we have to protect it." Steve couldn't help but smirk at Nat's matter of fact tone.

"No, we have to destroy it. I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature. But also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something, very similar to its own signature, perhaps… Its molecular integrity could fail." Vision told the others as he walked towards Wanda.

"And you, with it. We're not having this conversation." She said sternly.

"Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can't get it."

"That's too high a price," she told him unwaveringly as he took her face in gently in both hands.

"Only you have the power to pay it," as Wanda walked away from him he addressed the others in the room once more. "Thanos threatens half the Universe, one life cannot stand in the way of defeating him." Steve was listening as his eyes stared down at the floor.

"But it should," he said as he looked at Vision. "We don't trade lives, Vision."

"Captain, seventy years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people. Tell me, why is this any different?" Steve took a deep breath but before he could speak Bruce interrupted.

"Because you might have a choice, your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. J.A.R.V.I.S., Ultron, Tony, me, the Stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asked Bruce.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone, there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts."

"Can we do that?" Nat asked hopeful but Bruce shook his head.

"Not me, not here."

"You better find someone, and somewhere fast. Ross isn't exactly just gonna let you guys have your old rooms back." Rhodes said quickly, his arms crossed.

"I know somewhere," Steve said as he looked up and placed his hands on his hips whilst everybody looked at him with hope in their eyes.

As the quinjet raced through the sky, Sam piloting, Rhodey, Steve, Natasha, Wanda, and Vision watched the clouds whizz by in front of their eyes. Steve walked up to Sam and placed his hand on the chair.

"Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0." He told Sam.

"I hope you're right about this, Cap. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to." Sam couldn't help but sound nervous. The rest watched shocked when the Quinjet passed through a camouflage force field into Wakanda's Golden City's valley and landed at the airfield outside the palace.

T'Challa and the Dora Milaje approached to greet the arrivals as Okoye made their way to the pair who were flanked by a band of the King's Guard.

"When you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world...this is not what I imagined."

"And what did you imagine?" T'Challa asked.

"The Olympics, maybe even a Starbucks." She answered as the occupants of the Quinjet disembarked, Steve and Nat leading, followed by Bruce and Rhodey, with Vision and Wanda slowly taking up the rear.

"Should we bow?" Bruce asked Rhodey out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, he's a king." Rhodey answered seriously.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something," Steve shook T'Challa's hand as he spoke whilst Bruce bowed awkwardly to T'Challa.

"What are you doing?" Rhodey said pretending to be shocked.

"Uh, we don't do that here." T'Challa told Bruce as Rhodey grinned and Bruce shot him a look that could kill. "So how big of an assault can we expect?" he asked as the group began to walk back into an administrative building.

"Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault." Bruce answered.

"How we looking?" Nat asked T'Challa.

"You will have my King's Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." Steve was distracted by Bucky smiling as he walked towards Steve, passing some Kings guard taking Vision and Wanda to another facility.

"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man." Bucky interrupted as Steve pulled him into a hug.

"How you been, Buck?" he asked him.

"Uh, not bad, for the end of the world." He told him smiling. "I've also been keeping an eye on your girl." He said as Steve saw Alice appear, running towards him she flung her arms round his neck. The pair held onto one another for the longest time, their surroundings melting away until Bucky cleared his throat.

"You okay?" Steve whispered to Alice.

"Yes, you?" she asked him in return and Steve nodded. "I need you safe…"

"Do not worry Captain, I will make sure of it." T'Challa answered as Steve thanked him with a silent nod. Alice pulled away from him and quickly gave the others a small smile, some seemingly shocked and others not.

"Go Steve, you've got work to do." She said as she squeezed his hand, Steve hesitated but when Alice pushed his chest gently he reluctantly let go.

Whilst Steve and some of the others were in Shuri's lab, Sam opened a line over the Avengers' comm. "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here." He said as the defence shield over the Golden City destroyed one of the alien vessels, it slamming into the field at full attack acceleration.

"God, I love this place." Bucky said in response to the immediate destruction.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome." Rhodey said, now in full War Machine armour and watching three more ships burn through the sky. The shock waves and debris destroying acres of forest and boiling up against the dome. Steve and T'Challa watched from the lab, a look of concern on both of their faces over the scope of what they were facing.

"It's too late, we need to destroy the stone now." Vision said as he struggled to get up from the table.

"Vision, get your ass back on the table." Nat told him as she tried to sit him back down.

"We will hold them off." T'Challa said as he, Okoye and the guards headed for the door and Steve quickly looked at Wanda.

"As soon as the stone's out of his head... you blow it to hell." He told her.

"I will," she answered quickly.

"Evacuate the city, engage all defence procedures." T'Challa commanded as he stopped and turned to point at Steve. "And get this man a shield."

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