They all made sure they were close enough to hear what Carol had to say when she stopped near the door.

"Well?" Steve asked, stepping up, the military guys also pressing close to hear.

"You have an armada of spaceships coming this way," she told him. "Three large ones, acting like a carrier group." No surprise that she would put it that way; and if anyone had needed proof that she had been military, that would have been it. "They each have a lot of smaller ships around them."

"Any that are circular?" Gamora asked.

"A donut-looking one that is in the front, leading it all."

"Does that mean something?" Fury asked.

"The Maw is coming – and Thanos is most likely in that ship with him."

None of them needed to ask who she meant. It was one of the many things that Steve and Natasha had learned while they'd been questioning her, repeatedly, during the time that she'd been there. All of Thanos' so called children had been described, thoroughly, along with their capabilities.

"So it's happening, then," Tony said, looking more resigned than anything.

"We're in much better preparation than we were in New York," Clint said, walking up. He, too, looked worried, but resolute. As well he would, since only a hundred miles from their location he had a family sleeping and unaware that their world was in danger. "The question is, still, how do we keep him from going somewhere else looking for Peter?"

"The mind stone is telling him where Peter is," Wanda said, walking up with Pepper, now dressed in the Recue suit. "He isn't going to need to look anywhere else."

"Why would it do that?" Tony asked, scowling, and glancing at his son, who was pale, but didn't look too afraid – considering he was the object of the Titan's attentions.

"To keep him from destroying the rest of the planet looking for him." She shrugged, and it was clear that she was upset. Not surprising since Vision was now once more in Rescue, and not at her side as she much preferred. "It knows that Peter wouldn't want the rest of the planet harmed, so it's doing what is needed to show Thanos where to come."

"I'm not sure if that's sweet, or terrifying," Clint said.

"It's terrifying," Tony replied. "But it's convenient."

"We have to make sure that he doesn't send his carriers somewhere else," Steve said. "If he gets any indication that we're going to keep him away from Peter –"

"Which we are," Fury said, before anyone else could.

"Then he might decide to use a different part of the planet as an object lesson."

"Would he do that?" Quill asked Gamora.

"In a heartbeat," she confirmed. "I would – and he taught me."

Steve looked at Tony.

"We need to call the others – but I don't want them here, yet. The last thing we want, right now, is a show of force. We keep him off guard, let him think that he has the upper hand – and then, when things start going south, we start bringing in the Wakandans and the other magicians."

"What about the army?" Grady asked.

"No. That's expected and completely in line with a terrified planet," Steve told him. "Start the evacuations, now that we know he's coming. "Clear the entire space between here and the city as well as we can, and then set the line of protection somewhere in the middle. Nothing on the ground gets by them."

"Fair enough." The colonel looked at the general's aide. "Call General Baldwin, Lyle. Let's get that going."

Lyle nodded and moved away, and Steve looked at the others.

"We can do this."

"Of course we can," Romanoff said. She, in turn, looked at Peter. "You stay by me."

Peter looked over at Tony and Pepper, but they had already had this conversation, too. Their son had the same skillset that Natasha did; not surprising since she had been his primary trainer. Ironman – and now Rescue – were heavy hitters and designed for flight. As much as Tony and Pepper both wanted to stay at his side and protect him, they could cause a lot more damage to the invaders by being in the air and not tied to the ground keeping track of Peter.

Besides, Natasha was almost certainly going to be near Stephen – which was another layer of protection for him.

He nodded.

"Yeah."

"I'll contact the other sanctums and let them know what's happening – and will bring them here so they can jump in when needed," Wong offered.

"How long do we have?" Steve asked Carol.

"They were just coming into the solar system," she reported. "It's up to them."

"If he starts even looking like he's going to be sending any of the other ships anywhere other than here, we're going to need you to deal with them," he replied.

He looked at Wanda, too, and she knew that he was including her with that request. They'd talked about this, as well – even before Vision had decided to be Rescue's AI. Wanda had enormous power and almost certain could back up Carol with whatever they needed to do.

"I am groot?"

"Where do you want us?" Rocket asked – and only a few knew whether he was translating what the tree was saying or not.

"Wherever you think you'll be most comfortable," Steve answered. "The railguns on the roof are going to be manned by the military, and we have every intention of keeping these guys on the other side of the shield. If something happens, kill anything that comes at you."

Rocket nodded, as did Drax.

"Mantis isn't a fighter," Quill said, looking at the young woman, worriedly. She had talents, but was a much gentler soul. "Maybe we should evacuate her with the others…"

"I will stay," Mantis said. "There will likely be casualties. I can assist with that."

The National Guard had a lot of doctors already established and waiting – just in case something happened. Now that it was happening, Steve knew that there would be several mobile hospitals being set up – as well as all of the medical rooms at the compound, of course.

"You can definitely help," he told her. "We appreciate it." He took a deep breath, and gave them a confident look. "We'll wait and see what Thanos says, but let's get our calls made."

They dispersed, then, mostly, and Tony and Pepper both went to Peter, pulling him out of the hall and into a nearby conference room – and were followed by Natasha and Stephen, who closed the door behind him.

"Stay close to Natasha," Tony told him, again. "But if anything happens, you run for Asgard."

"I can't-"

"You will," Pepper interrupted. "We'll buy you all the time you need, but you have to be safe. Nothing is more important than that. Not even this planet, really."

Peter quailed at the thought of losing them – something that he knew they were talking about, but that he couldn't accept.

"No. I can fight, too."

"You will fight," Tony told him. "Otherwise we'd send you there, now, before it even starts. But you remember this, Peter Benjamin Parker… and you remember it well; Thanos is after you. If he gets hold of you, then he can destroy the entire universe – and all the people in it. If stopping him from doing that means that you leave us, here, and you run, then you need to run. Asgard has a stone, too. They're a target."

"That's not fair…"

Tony pulled him into his arms, and held him for a long moment. Peter could feel him trembling, but knew it wasn't fear for himself – it was only fear for Peter.

"You know as well as anyone that things aren't always fair," his father reminded him. "But this one is so important. Your mom and I love you so much. You know that."

"Yeah."

"Natasha is going to watch your back during this. You need to watch hers, too. Understand? You have those spider senses, make sure you use them."

"I will."

Tony let him go, and Pepper hugged him, too. Her armor stopped her from actually feeling the embrace very well, but it didn't matter. She pressed a kiss against his temple and held it there for a long time.

"You're so amazing."

He sniffed.

"Thank you for loving me."

Which made her tear up. She smiled, though, and stepped back, wiping her eyes, and then using her thumbs to wipe the moisture from his cheeks.

"We have the AIs," she reminded him – and Natasha. "If you need something, make sure you call."

"We'll take good care of him," Romanoff promised, putting a hand, protectively, on Peter's shoulder – which also confirmed that Stephen had every intention of being near at hand, as well.

"We know."

Tony and Strange exchanged a look, but before either man could say anything, Friday spoke up.

"Something is entering the atmosphere."

Tony was the first to head for the door, and back to the command center.

"Get the shield up," he ordered – even though in this kind of situation it was Steve who was officially in charge. "Something's coming."

Rogers nodded, and reached for a shield of his own, which had been affixed to his back. Now he put it on his forearm, and tightened it down, a little, casually.

"Let's go see what we're dealing with," he told the others.