A quick note: A bit of dialogue is borrowed from Avengers: Endgame. As much as I wish I could, I don't claim it, or these characters, as my own.

Steve blinked his eyes open, disoriented and struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness that surrounded him. His ears were ringing, and he felt a dull pain seeping into his ribs. After about a minute, he was able to sit up and survey his surroundings, and second later he remembered what had happened.

"Shit."

He stood slowly, bracing himself against what had most likely been a wall, taking care to avoid the live wires that sparked around him. "Does anybody copy?"

Static from the comms echoed in Steve's ear. "Tony? Nat? Thor? Can anyone hear me?" More static. He took a few steps toward an opening in the rubble to try and get a better signal when he heard a muffled groan. Natasha was sitting up a few paces away, holding her head.

"Nat. Nat, look at me," Steve knelt beside her, bracing her face gently between his large hands. "Are you all right?"

He pushed the hair back from her face. She had a cut over her left eyebrow, a large welt forming on her forehead and some small scratches but seemed otherwise unharmed. Natasha grunted with exertion as Steve helped her to her feet. "A building just dropped on us, and I'm standing upright. So, yeah, I think I'm good."

Steve released the breath he was holding and grabbed Natasha by the hand, pulling her with him toward the opening. He took a step outside and stopped short at the edge of what was left of the compound. Tony and Thor were already there, staring out into the destruction. Sitting among the wreckage was Thanos. His large, double-bladed sword was impaled in the ground next to him. A dozen ships floated above them in the smoke-filled sky, and Steve could see the Black Order and their armies in the distance.

Steve paled and nudged Natasha behind him and out of view. "What's he been doing?"

Thor's eyes were locked on the enemy, "Absolutely nothing."

"Where are the stones?"

Tony looked to Steve, "Somewhere under all this. All I know is, he doesn't have them."

Steve set his jaw, "So, we keep it that way."

Tony nodded and held out the shield that had been blown from Steve's grip in the explosion. He strapped the shield to his arm and turned to Natasha. "Stay back and out of sight. Try to get someone on comms and figure out where those stones are."

"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor asked, his steely blue eyes burning a hole into Thanos.

"Yeah," Tony sighed. "I don't much care."

Ribbons of blue lightening cracked through the sky and down into Thor as Mjolnir and Stormbreaker flew from opposite directions into his outstretched hands. "Good. Then let's kill him properly this time."

Natasha squeezed Steve's hand and stepped back through the opening in the wreckage. She pressed her back to what was left of the wall there and tried the comms link. "It's Nat. Is anyone there? Does anyone copy?"

Static.

She pulled the earpiece out and blew on it, absentmindedly thinking about how Alexei used to do the same to old video games she and Yelena played when they were children. She replaced the earpiece and Scott's voice rang through.

"Hello? Natasha? Cap? Can anyone hear me?"

"Scott! Scott, where are you? Where's are the stones?" Nat's heart was racing. She peered around the opening to see Tony, Steve and Thor slowing approach Thanos. He still hadn't moved, but a menacing smile slowly spread across his face as her friends drew nearer.

"I have them. I'm making my way up from the lower levels with the others." Scott's voice was panicked. "What the hell happened?"

"It's Thanos. Listen to me, you have to keep those stones as far away from here as possible."

"Copy. But…" Scott's voice cut off, and Natasha heard loud screeching sounds on the other end of the earpiece.

"Scott? Scott, what's happening?" She heard nothing but static now. "Damnit."

Natasha looked out into the open space again and dread settled in the pit of her stomach. She knew she wasn't a match for Thanos, which was the only reason she didn't protest when Steve told her to stay back. But she hated feeling helpless. She needed to do something.

The trio had descended upon their enemy, attacking from all sides in an effort to disorient him enough to eventually land a fatal blow. Despite their collective strength and strategy, Thanos was too much. He overpowered them, tossing Tony and Steve to the side like toys. He turned toward Thor, hurling the massive double-ended sword in his direction. Thor slid easily under the weapon as it glided overhead and swung Stormbreaker down as it boomeranged back into Thanos' hand.

For a while, the pair were matched blow for blow, both losing their weapons in the process, but it wasn't long before Thanos had the upper hand on Thor once again. He picked the God up by the shoulder and tossed him back into the rubble, slamming fists and feet into his face over and over.

Thor extended a hand, summoning Stormbreaker, but just as it reached its owner's grip, Thanos swiped the enchanted axe from the air and pushed its blade down into the Asgardian's armor. His hands wrapped around the handle and pushed back with as much force as he could, slowing the blade, but he could feel the pressure building and knew it would soon pierce his chest.

Then suddenly, Thanos was knocked off balance into the dirt. Thor sat up, and a wide grin spread across his bloodied face. "I KNEW IT!"

Steve was standing 50 yards away, dirt and blood smeared across the part of his face not covered by his helmet; the shield was strapped tightly to his left arm and the fingers of his right hand were gripped around Mjolnir.

Natasha heart nearly leapt from her chest the moment Thor's hammer tore through the air into Steve's outstretched hand. She stood on that ledge unable to tear her eyes away from the fight that ensued.

Steve took off toward Thanos, spinning the hammer as fast as he could. With all the momentum his body could manage, he swung it upward and into the underside of his enemy's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the air. Fury and determination ignited in Steve's eyes. The way he battled against Thanos was unlike any fight Natasha had seen him in. Steve Rogers was no longer a soldier; he was a warrior. He wielded Mjolnir so naturally that she almost couldn't believe he hadn't done it before.

Just as Thanos was regaining his footing, Steve launched the shield in his direction, followed immediately by the hammer. The impact knocked the large sword from the Titan's grasp. Steve landed blow after blow, keeping Thanos at bay and not allowing him to get in any strikes of his own. He raised the hammer into the air and swung it down hard, bringing with it a streak of blue lightening that knocked Thanos onto his back.

Natasha was emboldened by Steve's display of pure heroism and decided she could no longer stay on the sidelines. She leapt from the ledge and took off running toward the back of the wreckage in search of the rest of the team.

Just as quickly as Steve had gained the upper hand, however, he lost it. Thanos dodged another blow from the hammer, lifted Steve by the throat and body slammed him back into the ground. He rolled away and got to his feet in time to duck out of the way of the sword. Steve lifted the shield to block another blow but was thrown off balance when Thanos sliced the long blade across his inner thigh. He pushed the searing pain out of his mind and raised Mjolnir into the air. Thanos was expecting the counterattack, however, and knocked hammer from Steve's hand and out of reach.

The Titan continued his assault on Steve, raising the sword high above his head and swinging it down. Steve's eyes widened as he realized its blade was stuck in his shield. Thanos raised the sword again and again, breaking pieces of vibranium away with each blow, until only half the shield was left. He then swung the flat side of the sword into Steve's body, sending him flying across the terrain.

Steve landed on his back with a thud. His head was splitting. The ache in his ribs from the explosion was now sharp and stabbing. He needed to get up. He needed to keep fighting. He got to his knees and slowly stood, gritting his teeth against the pain from the wound in his thigh. He took a few deep breaths, tightening his shield against several large gashes in his forearm with a grunt and turned to look at Thanos.

The Chitarui army had fallen in line and stood at attention, ready to attack. Steve's sucked in heavy breaths, his lungs burning with dust, ash and begging for more oxygen. Thanos was saying something, but Steve was only distantly paying attention. He scanned his surroundings, trying to figure out what to do next, when the comms link in his ear crackled to life.

"Hey Cap, you read me?"

Steve stilled. The voice was distorted, but it was one he would've known anywhere. After a second he heard it again, this time more clearly.

"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" Steve's heart thudded in his chest as he reached up and pressed his fingers against the earpiece, turning around just as yellow circles sparked in the air around him. "On your left."

Relief flooded Steve's battered body as the circles grew wider. The first faces he saw were of T'Challa, Oyoke and Shuri, followed by Sam, Bucky and Wanda. A second portal revealed a group he only knew through stories – Stephen Strange, Peter Parker and the rest of the group known as the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thousands of Wakandan soldiers, Asgardians and sorcerers poured onto the battlefield, ready to do anything necessary to put an end to Thanos and his war on humanity.

Natasha rounded the corner with Rhodey, Bruce and Rocket. Her eyes grew wide and involuntarily filled with tears, taking in the scene in front of her. "Holy shit."

"We might actually have a chance," Bruce said quietly. He looked down at Natasha then back up in awe as every ally they had filled the empty space around Steve.

"Oh, hell yes!" Rocket raised his assault rifle into the air with a shout and hopped onto Bruce's shoulders as they made their way down to the battlefield to reunite with their team, falling into place on the front lines.

Natasha pulled her batons from the holster on her back and locked them together, forming a long staff. She looked to her left at Steve and smiled, "Whatever it takes."

Steve smiled back at her and held out his hand for Mjolnir, "Avengers!" he called out to Earth's last line of defense.

The hammer landed in his palm, and his eyes locked on Thanos, blazing with fire and renewed purpose. He gritted his teeth and with a sense of hope he hadn't felt in years, prepared for whatever was to come.

"Assemble."