"They are killing themselves," Okoye commented as she stood astonished and appalled alongside the other Dora Milaje watching the carnage unfold before her very eyes. "Do they have no sense of self-preservation?"

It was hard to describe the creatures that had emerged from Thanos' ships. They were like a sort of massive rabid dog that had been burned to a crisp. Their hides looked as though they had been scorched and they had razor sharp teeth that they were constantly gnashing as they snarled and clawed away at the protective barrier.

There was no method to their behaviors. One creature crawled on top of the other, pressing themselves against the shield, burning themselves further, some breaking through only far enough to have the force field slice off limbs and torsos. The few that were able to completely break through and remain alive didn't live long as the king's guard easily picked them off one-by-one with their weapons.

Perhaps aware that they were making no headway the wall of creatures began to slowly spread wider and wider down each side of the domed shield. "They are going to try to circle around us," Bruce said as he stood not far from Natasha watching as the creatures pawed and scratched at the shield. "If they make it around us then there will be nothing between them and the lab. Shuri, Vision and Wanda will be on their own."

"What do we do now," Okoye turned to T'Challa for her king to decide on the next strategic move.

"We open the barrier," T'Challa said solemnly as though the solution to the problem weighed a thousand pounds on the young man's shoulders.

Steve looked to the young man at his side, his face stern, silently agreeing with the king's decision. Nodding his head slightly, Steve activated his shields to their full length. T'Challa touched his earpiece to activate the earwig he was wearing and gave the order that seemed to silence all those around him as he spoke to his sister. "Shuri, at my signal I need you to open section 23 of the Northwest barrier."

There was only a moment of silence before everyone heard Shuri's startled reply. "Say again my king. You want me to open the barrier?" Shuri would follow her brother to the gates of hell if he asked her to, but at that moment she was concerned that he had possibly lost his mind with that request.

"We must draw them to us," T'Challa continued, "keeping them in front of us will allow you more time. But sister," he paused a moment, "anything you can do to speed it up would be of great help."

"I need at least another thirty minutes my king. I believe I can be finished, I just need a little more time. I've lost two sets of very helpful hands and my own can only move but so fast." Both Tony and Bruce heard the compliment over the com system from Shuri…both wished they could be there to aid Shuri in her completion of the task of separating Vision from the stone. But if they couldn't be there at her side, they damn sure would give her as much time as they could to do it on her own.

"We've got this T'Challa," Tony could be heard over the earwig. "Do what you need to Shuri. We'll give you all the time we can." Tony could be seen hovering overhead of the others. He was only a few feet from the section that was soon to be opened, blasters at the ready to unleash a torrid of weaponry as soon as T'Challa called for that section of shield to be opened.

"Bring it on," Bruce could be heard saying just before his body began rapidly morphing into the huge green Hulk. Natasha was always fascinated with the way Bruce went from a mild mannered scientist one minute to a huge green rage monster the next. The Hulk looked down at the now much smaller it seemed Natasha as he gave a big grin her way. "Hulk smash," he yelled raising his fists in the air before pounding his chest and taking a few steps forward.

"Promise me you'll stay by my side no matter what," Natasha heard Bucky say to Madison. Turning her head slightly she watched as Bucky looked towards Madison for confirmation she heard his request. James Buchanan Barnes was a soldier at heart. He fought in the war and had lived years becoming a better fighting machine. But at that moment Natasha could see his heart being overwhelmed by his fear of the moment. Losing his own life meant nothing to him. Natasha knew Bucky understood that death sometimes came to a soldier in battle, but nothing could prepare him for going to war with someone he loved at his side.

She couldn't seem to tear herself away from watching the scene unfold as Madison reached up and pushed a bit of loose hair behind Bucky's ear. "I'll stick to you like glue Sarge. Where you go I go," she said as she cupped his cheek.

Getting lost in Bucky's ocean blue eyes wasn't an option at the moment for Madison. She had to find her focus so that she could do her job. As she attempted to clear her mind, she found she couldn't help but wonder if this is what her parents in her universe must have felt like when they faced off against Thanos. Did they share a tender moment with one another as she was able to with Bucky? Did they fight alongside one another or did they get separated? Were they scared of what they were seeing as she was right now?

As Bucky cocked his rifle, Madison closed her eyes a moment to use Loki's skill to conjure a sword. Everyone was set for the fight of their lives that was only moments from beginning as T'Challa gave the order. "Open the barrier…now."

As the section of barrier opened, it had the desired effect causing the monsters to double back towards the now open section. They began flooding in, dozens per second, each one seemingly too anxious to wait its turn and stomping on one another to enter the barrier. A couple hundred had filed in before suddenly they were being shredded by blaster fire from above. Tony's weapons system was extensive and right now he was showing off with his new nanotech. Round after round lay waste to the creatures as no more than a few made it more than a hundred feet inside the dome.

Each one that made it past Tony's destruction was laid to waste by Rhodes or Sam that circled Tony overhead. Before long more and more were able to avoid the aerial assault and were barreling towards the large mass of Wakandan defenders and Avengers. The king's guard continued their onslaught of picking off those that got too close. Soon though, Tony, Sam and Rhodes had to pull back as they were now becoming targets for the landing party that held back behind the creatures just inside the tree line.

"Avengers," everyone could hear over the com system, "it's time to work for a living," Tony said as he Sam and Rhodes both flew back overhead. Madison saw out of the corner of her eye as Bucky settled back on his right leg, readying himself to take off running at the signal. Sword in hand Madison did the same as the voice of her mother met her ears. "No matter what happens today, I've never been as proud of someone as I am of you," Natasha said, turning only slightly to smile at Madison.

Tears threatened to fill Madison's eyes but they were quickly blinked away as the signal from T'Challa was given for all to hear, "Wakanda Forever!" he roared before taking off at full speed. Everyone around Madison took off running towards the creatures ready to slaughter all that threatened their very existence.

Although it was actually several hundred yards it seemed like mere seconds as Madison and Bucky ran through the grassy fields. The wave of enemy attackers hit them like water on the beach, the force causing several to take steps back as they slashed their way forward. When one creature screamed in agony as it fell, two more seemed to take its place. Madison stood at Bucky's back, moving as he moved, doing everything she could to be sure she protected where he couldn't be looking at the moment.

Between the sword and her gathered abilities she was able to keep the creatures fairly easily at bay, but the same wasn't true everywhere around her. Okoye was at Natasha's side fighting off creatures, Hulk was being swarmed by them as they clawed and bit at his arms and legs. Some even climbed onto his back trying to tear his tough flesh. His roar of frustration and anger could be easily heard as he tossed the hideous creatures far and wide.

Madison caught sight of her father suddenly falling to the ground pinned by a creature that he desperately held off. In her ear she could hear Tony warning Sam and Rhodes to move out of the way or they would get caught in the blast. All around her chaos was raging; all around her loved one after loved one needed help. Madison caught herself taking a couple steps away from Bucky to move to help Steve when she remembered her job and moved back into place. Instead of running to Steve's side Madison instead threw a power ball of energy at the creature that had him pinned. The creature was ejected off and exploded in midair before it could land.

The great feeling of pride Madison felt in her abilities lasted only a moment as she felt Bucky's body being slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. Bucky's weight only remained a moment as he was lifted and tossed several feet away from Madison. Her heart began to ache as she realized she was too far from Bucky's side. He was in trouble and it was her job to protect him but there was suddenly a swarm of deadly creatures between them and no clear path to reach him. Even with all of the noise and chaos Madison could detect Bucky's grunts and screams of frustration as he drew his knife and started hacking away at the creatures that had him pinned.

Too much, too fast was happening and Madison felt herself losing control. She was scared, frustrated and angry all at the same time and there didn't seem to be a point where one emotion stopped and the next started. Her lungs burned with the smell of death in the air. Panting Madison stood to her feet, her hands held an eerie green and black glow that seemed to smoke and swirl with power. Her nostrils flared as she felt her anger reaching its peak. Suddenly Madison leapt into the air landing only a few feet away from Bucky's thrashing body sending out a shockwave of energy. Creature after creature surrounding the two suddenly burst into pieces, splattering limbs, erupting skulls. Shrieks of terror sounded from the animals as they realized what had happened as some on the outside of the blast radius turned and ran to try to outrun its reach.

Madison found herself covering Bucky's body with her own, afraid of what her power might do to him. As they both raised their heads and surveyed the surrounding fifty odd feet, no one on their side seemed to have suffered from the blast. Only the creatures had been shredded. Madison looked down into Bucky's smiling face. "Doll, remind me never to piss you off." Laughter felt odd at the moment, but in that moment laughter was what made Madison feel the most alive.

"Did you know she could do that," Okoye asked as she looked at Natasha.

"My girl is full of surprises," she said as she holstered her batons before dashing over to Steve.

Hundreds of the creatures had been destroyed by the allies but still more continued to come. Little did those on the field realize that they had been joined on the battlefield by the one they needed to stop more than anyone else. Thanos.

Standing inside the tree line, Thanos watched as the carnage unfolded. He had never given much thought to the shedding of life if it meant victory in the end. Soldiers are born to die in the fight and the creatures he sent in beforehand were literally bred to do the dirty work. These Earthlings were quickly becoming a thorn in his side. There should not be this much resistance from such pathetic creatures and yet, his armies were being slowly decreased.

But one area of the battle in particular caught his attention. He watched as a flash of green and black energy sliced through his creatures, clearing a section of battlefield with just the mere wave of a hand.

"Bring me that one," Thanos instructed, his thick purple finger pointing towards where Madison sat holding Bucky in her arms.