Doctor Banner had indeed been with her mother before arriving on earth. The thing was, he was sent off the ship they were on before he could see what happened to her or the two Asgardians.

He'd been transported to the relative safety of earth while the others were left to the mercy of the titan- Thanos.

The moment she heard that bit of news, Nadia shook.

She didn't know the status of her father and her best friend. Now, she finds out that her mother and her teacher were last seen to face mortal peril.

Too much.

It was too much.

She needed to do something.

"I- I need to go." She whispered.

Bruce had seen the color drain from the young woman's face and the terror spark in her eyes.

"Hey- Hey!" Bruce held her by the shoulders when she tried to get up on shaky knees. "Easy."

Her mother and Loki.

Tony and Peter.

Peter…

She realized she was gasping with how heavy her chest felt. "I- I… I can't-"

Bruce saw her beginning to spiral and put his hands on her cheeks, forcing the young woman to look into his own dark eyes. "Nadia! You need to breathe!" He said firmly before inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly.

After a few more gasping breaths, Nadia took a slightly slower, shaky breath before matching the doctor's breathing pace.

"That's it… There you go." He said gently.

Hazel eyes meant warm brown.

"I need to go, doctor." She repeated simply. "Thank you for your help." She said numbly.

Bruce shook his head, "No… No. Steve is on his way back with Vision. You should stay." The doctor was somewhat concerned that her slight concussion would worsen if something happened to her when she left. That and his news of not knowing what happened to her mother had obviously shaken her.

"He's right, Sailor Moon. If we stay together, we can work on a plan of action." Rhodey appeared at the infirmary doorway. Honestly, he wanted to keep Tony's daughter in his sights since his best friend had taken an impromptu trip to space.

"Just g-give me a painkiller. I'll be okay." Nadia waved her hand, "I won't- I won't be able to do much here." Not waiting idly. Besides, it was Captain America who was the strategist, not her. There were still a few hours before he and the others got to the facility.

Rhodey sighed and nodded in defeat. "Okay." The young woman was as stubborn as her father. He knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind about this. "You watch yourself, Nadia." He hugged her tightly and pulled away, holding both her shoulders firmly, "Stay safe."

She had to get to work.

"Sure." She said tersely, flinching at her own short response. "I- I will." Her fingers twitched, but she curled them into fists as she bit her lip. She gave the man one more brief but tight hug, needing some assurance that at least one of the people important to her was currently safe.

Turning around, she conjured a portal and stepped through without looking back.

The figure gasped awake, their breath coming out as fog in the dimness.

How long had they lost consciousness?

Sitting up, their hand flew to their wrist. With a small bit of focus, a mark appeared on their skin.

The Norse rune for grace.

Devastation cut through them when they saw it was a faded grey instead of an inky black. An angry and anguished yell left their lips.

"I'll kill him."

This.

This had to be it.

Finding the spell she needed had taken longer than she anticipated. Nadia had not asked for help from Wong. He and the rest of the sorcerers of Kamar Taj were too focused on fortifying the sanctums in light of Doctor Strange's absence. She couldn't pull them away from that.

Tony had said not to follow.

To hell with that.

Not only was she going so she could help her father, but she was also going to protect Peter. She took up his fate from the archives. Though her foreknowledge was practically spent, she still felt responsible. And what kind of a daughter or friend would she be if she didn't help them simply because she cared?

She was also following one of the main Outsider's rules. When the war came, Nadia and her mother had to focus on their charges and theirs alone. Renny, the founding Outsider, was the overall guardian. The eldest Capelli did not want her girls to shoulder the weight of having to think of the fate of so many.

Nadia took the book she had found and stepped to the lobby of the New York Sanctum. This would take some substantial focus for her. She was no sorcerer supreme, even with Loki's training.

"You're not leaving without me, are you?"

The young woman turned and gasped.

"Loki!" She ran and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He was safe. So that could only mean-

The god of mischief did not return hugs, but this time, he put a light hand on her back. "Nadia…" he said softly, as though knowing what she was about to ask.

She jumped back as though burned, "No…"

"Thanos attacked our ship…"

"No…" Her knees buckled and fell to her hands, tears of denial flowing down her cheeks. Nadia grit her teeth and swiped away her tears before Loki could do anything. "Help me."

With Loki, the spell would be much easier. Other than that, they would likely be jumping into a battle. If they were going to face Thanos, every helping hand counted.

The god nodded solemnly.

The two stood side by side and Nadia plucked a hair from her head. They both took a deep breath. Loki mirrored her gestures as she stretched her arms in front of her, an arcane circle flared to life around her, then Loki, before one line connected them both. The yellow sparks burned pale green before a portal of the same color slowly formed in front of them.

Renny watched the quinjet land slowly. Bucky gave her arm a squeeze before he walked forward to greet those disembarking.

Was that James Barnes? Steve's best friend from the 40's? How was he here? God, he had so much to catch up on. Bruce watched Steve exchange a few words with his friend before a new figure walked up and hugged Steve tightly.

"Good to see you're patching things up with Buck, Bangles." The Captain had heard of their fight, though he never sought any details. The two were stubborn and would solve it on their own, he'd get the story when they decided to tell him.

Bruce cocked his head at the new female face. Something seemed a bit familiar, even if he didn't really know anyone with silvery hair and grey hair. But when he looked closely- "Anya? You're-"

The woman cocked her own head while Steve half-turned and introduced her, "This is Renny, Bruce."

She stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Doctor." They shared a brief handshake.

"The stories will have to wait though, we have some work to do." Steve nodded at Vision who was already being lead up to the building where the labs were.

"I-" Bruce cut himself off. A rushed explanation would be rude and this woman had to be related to the ally he had made on Sakaar, right? They were almost twins!

Later.

He promised himself. When he had time to give her a proper recounting of what had happened and what he knew.

Steve and the others had made their way to the labs. Bucky was one of those who stayed on the ground. Renny stayed as well. She wanted to hear the plan, but Steve reminded her that her magic didn't exactly blend well with infinity stone energy. Who knew what could happen if she stayed in the room where they would try to extract one? She didn't argue.

Away from the planning, she went back over Bruce's reaction to her. The shock on his face.

It made a chill run down her spine.

Anya.

She looked at Bucky who was in a one-sided conversation with Sam. He seemed calm enough.

She couldn't jump to conclusions or she'd break down and Bucky would lose focus on this fight worrying about her.

As callous as it may have sounded, Renny had no time to worry about Anya or Nadia right now. She'd always told her girls that each of them had their own missions and that worrying about someone else's would do nothing but weigh them down. Right now, her mission was to protect the mind stone. When Thanos came and she could figure out just how many stones he really had, she could decide on how to move forward.

Anya was last with Thor and Loki. The founding Outsider had seen a few trailers for Infinity War before she landed here. The Guardians would find Thor. So there was still a chance. But… Anya took up Loki's fate, not Thor's. She could only hope that Thor's survival meant his brother's own and therefore her daughter's.

Nadia was definitely finding her way to Peter. She'd find her way to Titan… and face to face with Thanos. Tony, Peter, Strange, the Guardians… They would need all the help they could get.

At least here, she was surrounded by warriors and fighters.

A deafening crash and explosion sounded as something collided with the shield that covered Wakanda's main city. Everyone looked up and watched as the thing from space fell to pieces against the powerful shield.

"God, I love this place." Bucky breathed.

Steve and the others emerged from the lab and calls were being issued for people to get on board the numerous transports to take them from the city to the open fields.

When Doctor Strange looked into the alternate outcomes of this war, something was, well for lack of a better word, strange.

There was one possibility that showed them winning, but it was blurry and some images seemed to be overlapping. So he guessed there were probably two winning routes. Maybe three.

Three out of more than fourteen million possibilities.

He just had to make sure one of them happened.

Peter was floored when he heard the wizard tell them the odds.

How could they stand a chance?

Still… the chances would be zero if they didn't try at all... and they'd try their damndest.

And they were trying their damndest, and it was the most in sync that the teen thought he could fight with complete strangers.

This was one of the most important fights he'd ever take part in. The one with the highest stakes.

Fighting alongside Doctor Strange was familiar because he'd partnered with Nadia for almost two years. So jumping in and out of portals wasn't disorienting.

He'd just disappeared through another portal after delivering several kicks to the purple monster when his senses tingled.

Surprisingly, it wasn't warning him of danger, but something familiar.

Peter's gaze snapped in the direction pointed by his spider-sense and saw sparks tinted green.

Green… Nadia said her magic could be powerful but very unstable when it burned that shade.

He expected to see her familiar face, but there were only blurs that shimmered and disappeared before the portal shut behind them.

Several streaks of magic hit the Titan's back, making him turn to search for the source. Another barrage of magical projectiles hit him from the opposite side. He growled in annoyance. Sensing something, his right hand shot to his side and fisted. An illusion broke like the shattering of glass and Thanos had his fingers around a slender throat.

Hands grabbed his forearm and hazel eyes looked at him with rage more than fear.

Bones could have easily been snapped, but a snarl appeared on the woman's face.

"You killed my mother."

In response, he only raised a brow. It was illogical to think that Thanos would take note of her mother among the countless lives he had snuffed out, still, the expression only made Nadia's blood boil over. She screamed and hit his arm with both of hers.

For one split second… Thanos saw his favored daughter.

A split second of distraction was all that was needed. A third barrage hit him and he stumbled. Strands of magic wrapped around his gauntleted hand, Quill used a device to pull down his other hand, a portal opened above his head, depositing Mantis on his shoulders, and Peter webbed Thanos' back and pulled with everything he had.

As the titan fell to his knees, subdued by the empathetic alien's will, his fingers remained wrapped around Nadia's throat. She had to follow down to the ground as well lest she choke herself with an awkward angle.

"Nadia!"

"I thought I told you to stay back at home base, Sabs!"

The two who were supposed to relieve Thanos of his gauntlet were distracted. Peter jumped to assist his friend while Tony glanced back and forth between the golden glove he was tugging at and his disobedient daughter.

"Quickly…" Mantis groaned, "He is very strong."

Tony shook his head and refocused on what he was doing, split on the decision if Peter should be helping him, or keeping Nadia from suffocating.

"You incompetent quims."

Another different pair of pale hands wrapped around the golden glove. Tony turned, "Reindeer games?" The billionaire genius jumped back, just about to hit the god with a repulsor blast when-

"D-Don't…" Nadia managed to wheeze out with what little air she could gulp in with Peter's efforts. "He's… with us."

Peter redoubled his frantic pulling at Thanos' fingers when Nadia gasped for more air, "No talking." He reprimanded.

Someone landed on the ground in front of them. Peter Quill.

"I thought you'd be harder to catch? Not so strong now, are you?" The man gloated, stepping toward Thanos. "Where is Gamora?"

"Quill! No! We almost got this off!" Tony growled, pulling alongside the trickster.

"Don't be a fool!"

Quill was too blinded by rage to listen though. Seeing red as he realized the fate of Gamora, he swung his fist at Thanos' head, dislodging Mantis.

The titan woke from his trance.

He immediately moved forward to readjust the gauntlet that was almost off.

Peter Parker had managed to free Nadia just before Thanos swat them away.

And just like that, the battle began anew.

Peter had to reorient himself because he was thrown back with Nadia in his arms. "Are you alright, Nadia?"

Said young woman coughed, "That's gonna leave a bruise." A raspy chuckle left her throat and she winced.

She was okay enough to make jokes. That relieved the teen.

Just then, his senses alerted him again, and his gaze shot upward.

"Ho-ly…"

It was like the sky was falling and it was the end of the world.

The two had to jump apart to avoid a meteor from crushing them... or was it a huge chunk of moon?

Peter checked to see Nadia maneuvering herself well enough with conjured platforms and portals. With that assurance, he leaped for the others, grabbing and securing unconscious bodies while everything seemed to collapse around them.

A wave of red energy crackled to life and raced toward him, Peter panicked, worried what would happen now.

"Oh gosh…" He did his best to get ahead of the wave, weaving, and dipping around various debris, crumbling earth and rock. He wasn't fast enough though.

A yell of fear escaped him as red sparks fizzled around him and made his world spin. Was Thanos going to turn him into crumbling scrap metal?

"Pete!"

He realized he was still yelling. His eyes had shut to try and block out the dizzying swirl of his vision.

When his eyes opened, he processed that he was on the ground.

Stable ground.

Nadia stood in front of him, her hands on his shoulders.

Everything looked like it did before the sky started falling.

"Impossible! I killed you with my own hands!"

Loki was standing a safe distance away from the Titan.

"You did kill someone. Unfortunately, that wasn't me." Floating above his palm, was the Reality stone. "That was your first mistake." He clenched his fist around the red gem. It flared again and burst into red shards that swirled around his hand before seeping into his skin. His veins had a fiery glow for a few moments before it reached his eyes, turning them into burning coals for two seconds before they turned green again. Loki smirked.

Two stones against three.

And the trickster had quite the imagination.

Every attack Thanos tried to send towards Loki, the god twisted reality and turned every barrage of rock, earth, and twisted metal he turned into harmless foggy mist. Before the titan realized, the majority of his terrain was shrouded with an eerie fog.

"Why do you keep resisting?" He growled, turning to try and spot the insolent creatures that were trying to keep him from achieving peace and prosperity throughout the universe. "The entire universe will flourish."

Everybody thought the same thing. Was sacrificing half the living universe worth it? Just the earth would mean billions of lives lost.

Twin blasts of blue hit him, from the mist.

Several blaster shots followed.

Drax ran from the fog and landed a few dagger swipes on Thanos' back while Doctor Strange's conjured weapons hit his face and chest.

Peter took Drax's place and landed kicks on the titan's back while Nadia added to Strange's magical attack.

A red shroud of energy encased Thanos' body and he was rendered immobile again.

Thanos had to admit that this battle was getting tedious with the reality stone in opposing hands. He couldn't let this continue and it would be wise for him to find himself an advantage and even the playing field a bit more again.

With the power stone, he shattered the hold of the reality stone on him long enough so that he closed his fist again, activating the space stone.

A smoky portal appeared and swallowed him up and the titan disappeared.

A/N: Here we go! And this is where things really take a different turn. Does this seem believable? Action sequences really are not my strong suit at all. Thoughts? Comments or suggestions? Criticisms? Any guesses where this is going?

'til next time~