A/N: So, I hate to give out spoilers on my stories, but I don't want you guys stressing (too much), so I'm going to do a little spoiling, here. I'm not going to kill any of the main characters when Thanos comes. So no worries about our family – and its extension. I'm not a fan of the way Endgame ended, and even though my AU started long before I saw it, so I didn't know it was a fix-it, it pretty much is.
OOOOO
Steve and Nick joined them at dinner, and the former director of SHIELD brushed a hand along Peter's shoulder as he walked around the table to an empty spot next to Natasha.
"What did T'Challa say?" he asked Stark.
"He's onboard for anything that we need. Shuri will be here in the morning to start helping Peter set up the shielding."
"How far out are we looking at for that?" Clint asked, curiously. "Just the area around the buildings?"
"The Wakanda shield protects the entire Golden City – as well as a few miles, beyond. We'll have to wait and see what Shuri has to say about how much coverage we can get, but I imagine we can protect ten miles out in every direction – if not more."
"That's something," Steve said. "It'll give us room to work with."
"What kind of shield are we talking about?" Quill asked, curiously. He wasn't eating much, clearly having ruined his appetite with the junk food he'd gorged on, earlier. "What will it block?"
"Anything," Tony answered. "They used a minor version of it to keep wild animals away while we were there on our honeymoon, but I checked it out when Pepper wasn't paying attention and it's impressive tech. Not something that I've needed to work with – which is why we're bringing Shuri in – but it'll be our first line of defense, really."
"We're going to make some calls tomorrow," Nick said. "We're going to want to make sure the area is clear of civilians if this guy comes, but we – and by we I mean the Avengers – can't authorize any evacuations and we don't have the manpower to initiate it. That'll be on the military. National Guard, most likely, but reinforced with regular army units. Hard to tell – especially since we don't have a real timeline for this."
"Yes," Steve agreed, with a shrug. "It's hard to judge, and we can't tell them to start evacuating now for something that might not really happen for a year or more. The calls we make will at least make them aware of what's going on, so they can start coming up with their own plans."
"I am groot?"
Peter smiled.
"Who is Shuri? She's the little sister of T'Challa – he's the king of Wakanda. They're nice people. You can meet her, tomorrow."
"I've never even heard of Wakanda," Quill said. The others weren't from earth so of course they hadn't. "Where is it?"
"In Africa," Tony replied. "They're an interesting bunch of people."
"One of their craftsmen made that wooden carving on the wall there," Peter added, pointing at it.
While they ate, the group discussed not only Wakanda and some of the tech that they possessed and that Tony intended to make use of, but also the people of the small, isolationist country. Which led to stories of their visit during Tony and Pepper's honeymoon and eventually merged into a somewhat relaxing dinner conversation, considering how seriously it was started.
Peter wasn't all that hungry, because he'd had a couple of corndogs, but he still ate a hearty meal, knowing that Pepper, especially, would be watching him, worried about any kind of lack of appetite. He was watching as Mantis and Rocket debated about whether or not they wanted to try ice cream when his phone alerted him to a text.
"It's Shuri," he told Tony, glancing at it. "I'm going to go to my room and call her."
"Let me know what you learn."
"I will."
Peter gave Pepper a quick hug before he got up, trying to reassure her that things weren't as terrible as she might worry that they were. Then he left the room, the adults watching him go.
"How's he doing?" Steve asked.
"Better than I am," Tony admitted.
"He's staying calm because you are," Pepper told her husband. She looked at Natasha. "I'd like to put him as deep into his vibranium mine there in Wakanda as I could get him, but Peter shot that down, reminding me that he's not putting our allies in danger just because someone is looking for him."
"He's right," Natasha agreed. "Besides, I'd rather have him here, where I can keep track of him."
"I was outvoted."
"What are we going to do about school?" Clint asked, curiously. "Do we send someone with him, just in case?"
"He's done, for now," Tony told him – and the others. "We can't risk having an army pointed at New York, again, if Thanos comes looking for him at the wrong time. We'll keep him here."
"Does he know?" Romanoff asked.
"He wasn't happy about it, but it'd be putting Ned and MJ at risk, so it wasn't hard to convince him it's the right call."
"Yeah, it is. We're not going to do anything special as far as protecting them?"
"No need to," the billionaire shrugged. "I'm assuming that – at least for now – Thanos doesn't know anything about us, much less who Peter hangs out with. If that changes, we'll worry about it, then, and plan accordingly."
"We'll have a plan to set in motion," Natasha said. "Just in case."
"Good enough. Stephen will be here in the morning to bring Shuri – and maybe T'Challa – here. We're going to have a few surprises that I didn't know about – Shuri apparently has been anticipating the possibility of an alien invasion for years, and has already set Wakanda up with offensive capabilities. Once we know what she has that we can copy, we'll want to integrate it with our own, and then start deciding where we want to put it."
"Once we know where the shield will begin," Steve agreed.
"I can't wait to meet this Shuri," Gamora said. "She must be a wise woman."
"You're half right," Pepper said, smiling.
OOOOOOO
"What's going on, Peter?" Shuri asked, her expression concerned. "T'Challa mentioned an alien army may be coming. Is it the skrulls?"
"No. This doesn't have anything to do with them," the boy told her, stroking Nutmeg's furry side as he talked to his friend on the phone's video call mode. "This is a lot more serious – but we'll have to wait until you're here, really, to tell you about it. There are some visitors that you're going to have to meet, too."
"Interesting ones?"
Peter smiled.
"Yeah. If you happen to talk to Ned or MJ, though, you can't tell them what's going on."
"I don't know what's going on," she pointed out.
"But you will, and they can't know."
Tony hadn't explained it to him, but he didn't need to, really. If Ned and MJ knew what might be coming, they'd be tempted to tell their families and their other friends. When the military started showing up with whatever cover story they were going to use to put themselves between the compound and the city, the word might spread, and panic would almost certainly ensue.
Then people could be getting hurt when they shouldn't be.
OOOOOOO
"What is this?"
"It's a prophesy," the Collector explained, having read it to the mad Titan several times – and then directing one of his underlings to write it out on a piece of paper in common script and handing it over to one of Thanos' lieutenants. "It's beyond old, and worth a fortune."
"Where did it come from?" Thanos asked. "How do I know this isn't a ruse to distract me and my army from my quest?"
"It's been in my collection since time untold, Lord Thanos. Long before you came along, even. There are copies of it that have been around longer than you. It isn't a fake."
"Where is this child? And this man of iron?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," the collector told him. He hesitated at the frown on the Titan's face at his familiarity. "Or… better, really. My humble suggestion? The stones recognize each other. If one knows this boy, then they all might – through their connection. You possess one. Focus on it and see what it tells you."
Thanos scowled.
"It doesn't talk."
"Not as you and I do, of course, but you must have felt it." He didn't mention that he'd felt something from the stone that he'd possessed, those few times he'd had it out of the protective case it was stored in. "Someone as powerful as yourself should have no trouble with that. Calm your mind and open yourself to it. Perhaps it will tell you what you wish to learn."
The titan looked at him, suspiciously, for many long minutes, eyes narrowed. Finally, he nodded, though.
"Very well." Before the Collector could breathe a sigh of relief, Thanos gestured to one of his children, who stepped up. "You will tell the Maw which of your underlings are missing, and where each is from. I want the stone that was stolen, Maw. Do not fail me."
"No. I'll find it. You can count on me."