Greetings, all! Welcome to my story. This is my idea of what A4 could hold (though it will inevitably be proved wrong in a few months). I've had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it! Follows, Favs, and Reviews are much appreciated xoxo

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing that is owned by Marvel.

oOo

It was done.

Stillness thickened the air, freezing Thor's limbs. The nightmarish reality settled on his mind in an instant, his eyes still fixed where the Titan had disappeared just moments before. Now Stormbreaker lay in his stead, dark blood staining the young axehead. Even through the mess, Thor could see his own reflection staring back at him from within the gleaming metal. His ears muffled any outside sound as one phrase assaulted his mind.

"You should have gone for the head."

Dust coated Thor's mouth as the dry African wind kicked it into the air. Feeling the granules on his hands, he brought them out in front of him. He held what once were the lives of friends in his hands. Just a few seconds earlier, the dust was living, breathing, speaking. Now it danced in the air, dark and unthinking. Thor clenched his hands in fists. Whatever thirst for revenge, whatever ambition he once had dissolved into a heavy guilt that seemed to draw seconds into eternity. His reflection grew cloudy as his good eye condensed with tears.

"Thor?"

Steve's calm voice ripped the Asgardian king back to reality. All at once, the vibrant green foliage seemed mocking in comparison to the grief on the once-Captain's face.

"We need to regroup in the city."

Thor could do nothing but nod. Wearily, he knelt down and picked up Stormbreaker, wiping the dirty metal against the ground. The weapon somehow felt less friendly in his hand than a few moments prior.

He once again glanced up to Steve. Rogers had since moved to just a few feet in front of the Asgardian king. There were no words exchanged between them, but the concern in his friend's eyes somehow made Thor feel small, a feeling he was not at all accustomed to. Steve reached out and clasped Thor's shoulder briefly before moving by him towards Wakanda. Shortly after followed Natasha and Bruce, each keeping a careful distance from each other and not saying a word to Thor. Rhodey and the warrior maiden from Wakanda followed suit.

Rain, drop after drop, tapped a somber rhythm in the leaves.

"No… no…"

Thor turned to find the talking rabbit creature kneeling in the now soggy dust, shielding a patch with his wet fur. The king drifted over to the creature, making an attempt to keep the giant axe behind him. For a little while he just stood close by, wanting to give his newfound friend some time to mourn. He didn't seem to notice Thor's presence as he grasped at the mud beneath him. The action stabbed Thor in the heart and he knelt down in the mud. .

"Sweet rabbit… I'm so sorry."

Silence. The only indication of the creature's hearing him was its paws squeezing the mud between them.

"I know you must mourn, but we need to join the others-"

"You were supposed to kill him."

Though the words were quiet, Thor's heart seemed to still in his chest. Slowly, Rocket brought his face up to look at the Asgardian. His fur dripped and lay flat to his bone structure, widening his eyes. Something between rage and despair swam in their depths. Without a warning, he shot up and scratched Thor's face. Stormbreaker fell from Thor's grasp as he careened backwards in surprise. Rodent nails scurried up his leg until he could see the creature kneeling on his chestplate. Truthfully, Thor could have flung him away in an instant. But something inside him kept his arms at his sides.

"We spent all that time getting a goddamn weapon that was supposed to kill him and you didn't! Groot is dead because of you! I already lost him once… I…. I…"

All at once, the rage collapsed into a broken whimper. Rocket slumped over with his face buried in his hands. Though rain stung Thor's eyes, he forced himself to keep them open and looking at the creature. Not knowing what else to do, he moved to touch his friend's shoulder. Rocket flinched as if electrocuted and stepped onto the ground, trodding in the direction of the city. Thor gradually moved onto his knees.

"Rabbit… I'm sorry…"

The words sounded hollow as they left his mouth but he didn't know what else to say. For a moment Rocket stopped and turned his head slightly behind him. Mud dripped from his left paw as his fist clenched.

"Yeah, so am I."

oOo

Thor trudged through Wakanda, shivering slightly. It had probably been about an hour since his interaction with Rocket and he was absolutely soaked. Water quickly made its way into his mechanical eye, causing it to malfunction and become a general annoyance. After seeing double for half an hour, he wondered if it would just be worth it to just take it out. Unfortunately the rain made it significantly more difficult to get ahold of, so he continued walking and prayed to the Norns that it would eventually stop.

The distraction was quite welcome, however. He didn't want to think about facing Rocket again- or any of them for that matter. Everyone had lost someone. Rocket's words echoed in his head, reflecting the blame he had for himself. He was supposed to have ended it all. The victory that had welled in his chest at the sight of Stormbreaker embedded in Thanos' chest was sweet, though short lived. That was supposed to be the moment he avenged everyone- made their deaths worth something. Now, walking through the eerily empty streets of Wakanda, he was faced with his own loss. Loki, Heimdall, his father, his planet. At this point, he was a subjectless king and a warrior without victory.

Thor thumbed Stormbreaker's handle, feeling the rough, sinewy fibers of wood. Even his weapon once lived.

Greeted with the sight of a larger, grand building, Thor strode towards it. He actually had no idea where he was going since he had never been in Wakanda before. In a way, it reminded him of Asgard, with its narrow streets congested with buildings on either side. Whether based off of sentiment or common sense he wasn't sure, but he realized he had been basing his direction off of where he would have been heading in Asgard. He shrugged the thought off and continued towards the building looming in front of him.

Upon arrival, he was admitted without any questions. The warriors guarding the door wore a similar garb to the maiden who fought alongside of Wanda and Natasha in the battle. Gratefully, he assumed that Steve had informed them he was coming, as one of them broke off to lead him through the castle. Not a word was exchanged, but Thor was amazed at the extravagance within. Quite a bit of the technology would have rivaled Asgard's, to his great surprise. Most of the Midgardian tech was thousands of years behind that of his home planet.

Loki would have loved this, he thought wistfully.

The silent pair continued to wander through the palace until the warrior maiden came upon an ornately decorated door. She opened it, standing next to it stiffly. Inside the chamber was a well-lit room with a great deal of chairs arranged into a circle. A young African woman sat at the end of the room, looking quite small in the extravagant chair she inhabited. Next to her sat an older African woman robed in white with a simple headdress. Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Rhodey, and Rocket also sat around the circle.

Steve smiled and motioned to a chair between he and Bruce. Thor carefully squelched his way over, wet prints from his boots leaving small puddles behind him on the marble floor. Not quite sure what to do with his giant battle axe, he balanced it against the arm of the chair and sat down. For a moment, an awkward silence hung in the air before Steve spoke.

"Thor, this is Queen Shuri and the Queen Mother, Ramonda." He motioned to the pair, the older of the two, Ramonda, smiling in greeting. Shuri simply nodded as though she weren't fully paying attention. With that, Steve continued, this time with a bit more strain. "We've been in contact with Tony and he and Nebula should be here in a couple days. They're the only ones who survived out of their party."

"Who's Nebula-?"

Before Thor could fully finish his question, Rocket interrupted.

"Nebula is Gamora's sister. Apparently she and your friends were with the rest of the Guardians."

Realization dawned on Thor. Rocket was the only one left of the ragtag bunch he had met only a few hours previously. For a couple seconds, he just stared at Rocket with mouth slightly agape. The creature didn't make eye contact, choosing instead to fixate on the clasped paws in his lap.

"Clint is on his way, too. Apparently Laura and the kids disappeared in the Snap."

Natasha's words were cool and distant as per usual, but her face looked as though she had been slapped. Without her typical rigid posture, she seemed disconnected. Her blue eyes stared past her comrades into a world that no one could see, past the walls and into oblivion. For the first time in his some odd years of knowing her, Thor thought she looked tired.

"So what's the plan?" Thor didn't know what else to say. His own mind felt numb from loss. All he wanted was to move forward.

"For now, we're focusing on locating the survivors and tending to the wounded. We'll stay in Wakanda for however long we're needed. After that…" Steve shrugged. "I don't know." With that, he turned to the Queen, as if continuing a previous conversation. "Is there anything else we can do?"

Shuri gazed at the ground for a moment. Then, her eyes seemed to set ablaze and she turned them to the company before her. "Bring my brother back."

"Shuri." Ramonda hissed admonishingly, tears forming in her eyes. "T'Challa disappeared, Okoye saw it with her own eyes-"

"That doesn't mean he's dead! These stones- they have some sort of power, yes? Who's to say they didn't just transfer them from one place to another?" Suddenly, she turned on Bruce. "You- you're a scientist. It's possible, yes?"

Bruce fidgeted for a moment, then shrugged.

"I mean, I've seen weirder."

Satisfied, Shuri shot back at her mother. Something akin to chaos shone in her face, though there was a childlikeness that remained. "My brother is not dead. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes." Again, she turned towards Bruce. "You will help me?"

After a moment of internal deliberation, Bruce nodded slowly.

"I don't know where we'd start but it's worth a shot."

"Good. Now-"

Suddenly the door to the chamber burst open. Okoye rushed in, spear in hand and breathless. She was just barely through the entryway before she began to speak.

"My queen, there is a situation in the lab that requires the attention of the Avengers."

oOo

Until next time! What do you think is happening in the lab?