"When I was told I could find you here, I was hoping they were lying to me." Nick Fury says in a snappy but sassy voice.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm not sure what you mean." Thor says with a cocky smile before taking a drink from a fluorescent cup.
"It's bad enough I had to cut you off on the ship, but you seem to want the entire planet annoyed with you." Nick Fury says.
"Nobody's annoyed with me..." Thor says turning back toward Nick Fury. "Do I know you?" He asks.
"Mother f..." Nick Fury grumbles under her breath.
"Who's your friend Thor?" Valkyrie approaches from the side carrying a massive glowing mug of sloshing clear liquid. He looks Nick Fury up and down briefly before turning back to Thor. "She's a little young for you isn't she?"
Thor completely misses the question and looks at the glowing mug. "Where did you get that?" He asks. I want one! He slaps it out of Valkyrie's hand and points upward shouting, "Another!"
Nick Fury manages to dodge the flying mug, and Valkyrie makes a sad face at losing his drink. He looks at Thor a little upset but seems to quickly forget what just happened. He turns back toward the bar. "Make it two..." His eyes dart to Nick Fury briefly, then back to the bar. "Or three!" He looks at Fury again. "You want one, little lady."
Nick Fury flushes with anger. "How long have you two idiots been drinking?"
Thor looks at Nick Fury and has to struggle to concentrate. "I don't know, ask Natasha." He turns back to see Valkyrie drinking what's left of his drink. "Hey! Hey. Hey..."
"Natasha?" Nick Fury asks aloud. Neither of them seem to notice. "Natasha's here?" Still no answer, so she starts looking around.
Thor seems to have forgotten about Nick Fury, and goes on to chatting with Valkyrie. "Oh, have you met Natasha? She's a Terran, but she looks..." Thor makes a fist like motion, "Amazing!"
"You mean Natasha, that came with us?" Valkyrie asks.
"No, not that one." Thor responds. "The girl one!"
Nick Fury gets annoyed at listening to him so she wanders off.
She makes her way further toward the back of the alien bar, wondering whether Natasha really is there, before hearing cheers. She turns toward the noise and follows. She has to push her way through a growing crowd and finds herself on some sort of a game floor. She reaches the center to see Hawkeye throwing strange boomerang shaped objects at what looks like a dart board. Natasha is massaging his shoulders.
Hawkeye concentrates really hard on the target and tosses the strange dart. It hits very close to the center, but is still off by about the length of a pinky. The entire crowd actually starts cheering loudly. An alien seated nearby slams down its drink and starts shaking its shoulders as it prepares to take its turn.
Hawkeye turns around, grabs Natasha's shoulders, and gives him a little excited shake and smiles before turning toward Nick Fury.
"Commander Fury!" Hawkeye calls out. "It's good to see you. Come join us."
"And what exactly are you doing?" Nick Fury asks, trying to hide annoyance.
"It's a game." Hawkeye responds. "These things..." He looks at the pieces. "These banana darts are designed to throw off your aim."
"Banana darts." Natasha says, while laughing and touching Hawkeye's arm.
Hawkeye smiles, before continuing. "I haven't missed this much in years." There is a short disappointed outcry from the spectators. Hawkeye looks to see his opponent missed by a long shot. "But I'm still winning." He says, turning back toward Nick Fury, happily.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching the kids?" Nick Fury asks, sarcastically referring to both Spider-Man and Thor.
"We were, but Thor kept offering her booze..." Natasha responds. "Said it'll help her grow."
"Don't tell me the kid is wandering around here drunk somewhere!?" Nick Fury shouts.
Hawkeye steps forward shaking his hand. "No, no..." He thinks for a moment. "I hope not." He starts giggling. "What's in this stuff?" He asks before picking up his drink and a dart to take his turn.
"He's alright." Natasha answers, seeming a little more sober than Clint. "Sam took him out to look around. They took Star-Lord to make sure they didn't get lost."
"That's good." Nick Fury responds, feeling a little relieved. "At least someone's being responsible."
"Hey guys!" Sam Wilson says rushing in through the crowd. "Did the kid come back around? We lost him in the crowd."
"Oh my god." Natasha starts to laugh at the ironic timing, and Sam Wilson turns to see Nick Fury. He realizes his mistake quickly.
Nick Fury scowls angrily. "Mother Fr..."
*** Further down the street ***
"My King, I'm not sure I'm comfortable in such an unsafe environment." Oyoke tells T'Challa.
"Yet you were comfortable letting me fight an insane alien all alone." T'Challa tells him.
"That was not by choice, My King." Oyoke responds.
"I know Oyoke, my friend." T'Challa responds. "I am just teasing you."
"I was very worried, My King." Oyoke tells him. "It is always my job to protect you."
"Well right now," T'Challa tells him, "it might be safest to not let anyone know that I am alien royalty."
"I am not sure what you mean, My Ki..." Oyoke stops abruptly when he realizes what T'Challa is referring to. "I believe you would be safest if we weren't so exposed to the unknown... Sir." Oyoke feels uncomfortable using a different title.
"Please, call me ma'am." T'Challa responds. "It'll make it less conspicuous."
"But..." Oyoke wants to continue protesting, but T'Challa gives him a pleading face. He is not sure why she has such a strong effect on him now. "Yes... Ma'am." He responds.
T'Challa pulls out a piece of paper with something written on it. She wanders a little further down the street before stopping at a vendor. "Excuse me," she asks, "do you know where I can find this?" There is something alien written on the paper.
The vendor says yes and gives them directions. He or she seemed very friendly, so T'Challa trusts the directions.
"Where are we going M... a'am?" Oyoke asks.
"There is something on this planet I have been wanting ever since I learned it existed." T'Challa tells him.
"What's that?" Oyoke asks.
"Right there." T'Challa says, pointing at a shop in front of them. She holds up the paper she was carrying and it has the same symbols as the name.
"What is that place?" Oyoke asks for more clarity.
"Come." T'Challa tells him. "It's an electronics shop."
"An electronics shop?" Oyoke asks, a little more confused now. "What could you possibly want in an electronics shop?" He follows his King in.
The shop is surprisingly vibrant and bright as they enter. Despite being alien, it feels very much like any phone store that could be found on Earth. The door chimes and even says "Welcome" as they walk in.
"Hello." An alien near one of the counters says in a friendly tone. "Someone will be with you shortly."
Oyoke is feeling baffled that an alien shop would not be so dissimilar from Earth. "My King," He whispers, "Why are we here?"
"We're here, to buy something." T'Challa says with a smile.
"Buy something?" Oyoke asks. "With what money?"
"Hello, how can I help you?" one of the shopworkers calls out.
"Yes, I was looking for something in particular," T'Challa tells the employee, "but I was wondering if you buy things or do exchanges."
"No sir, we don't do exchanges." The employee responds.
"Not even for something like this?" T'Challa pulls something out of her coat that glows purple. It's very small, but vibrant.
"My K... Sir... Ma'am!" Oyoke protests, stuttering over his own words. "What are you doing? You can't give that away."
"I am exchanging it my friend, and the laws of Wakanda only apply to Earth and people who are not royalty." T'Challa replies.
"I'm sorry ma'am." The shop worker replies, looking at the coin-sized stone. "I can't take this. I have no idea what this is."
"Do you happen to have a scanner?" T'Challa asks.
"We do," the employee says, "but we still can't take this." He is looking toward one of his coworkers for help, who seems to get the hint.
"Can I help you?" The coworker asks, before noticing the stone. He stares at it in awe, recognizing it.
"This couple wants to exchange this." The first employee tells the other. "She asked me to scan it."
"I'll do it!" The second shop worker says, excited and without hesitation. He reaches down and grabs the stone greedily, and rushes to the front counter.
"We're... not a couple..." Oyoke tells the remaining cashier. '
The cashier at the counter now pulls out a little device and uses it to scan the stone. "Vibranium" the device flashes almost instantly. He almost drops it in excitement. He stares at it in awe for a moment before rushing back toward T'Challa and Oyoke.
"How... How much do you want for it?" he asks in a stuttery voice, which causes the original employee to look on in concern.
"Well," T'Challa responds, "that all depends..." The employee's eyes light up greedily. "How much do you charge for Universal Translators?" T'Challa asks.
*** Back at Nova Corp HeadQuarters ***
James Rhodes enters a common area where Wanda, Vision, Scott, Hank, Hope, and Janet are sitting around and relaxing. Wanda is leaning into Vision who has his arm wrapped around him.
"Hey James, what's going on?" Wanda asks.
He looks at Wanda and lightly shakes his head in frustration. "They're planning a hearing in a couple of days." He tells him. "They said it's to decide the fate of the stones..." He looks down. "I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't sound promising."
"What do you mean?" Scott Lang asks.
"Don't interrupt him, Scott." Hope says.
"No, it's fine." Rhodes responds. "When I tried to ask about using the stone to fix things, they kept giving me vague answers." He made sure to look between all of them to make sure they were listening. "They kept saying it was too dangerous to just use them like that. They have to come to a decision."
"A decision?" Hank Pym asks in an agitated voice. "What do they need to decide? Just fix everything!"
"I don't know." Rhodes replies.
"This is ridiculous." Scott says.
"No," Vision speaks up. "I think it makes sense."
"It makes sense?" Hanks asks, annoyed.
"What do you mean, Honey?" Wanda asks next, turning back toward Vision.
"Well," Vision starts, "I guess it's no secret, the stones are very dangerous. I mean you yourself have seen what they can do, Wanda."
Wanda has a flashback of the mind stone driving people crazy.
"Captain Rogers said it practically disintegrated Red Skull back in '45." Rhodes says.
"Red Skull?" Scott Lang asks.
"Don't ask dumb questions!" Hope scolds her. Scott frowns angrily and even Hank seemed annoyed by the comment.
James Rhodes gives hope a concerned look, but chooses to ignore the comment and answer. "He was a crazed Nazi General back in World War II. He was exposed to the same chemicals that Steve was."
"Oh..." Scott replies. "Wow. I didn't know that." Hope seems a little annoyed by the comment.
"If history has taught us anything," Vision interrupts, "It's that the stones can be very dangerous and deadly."
"I mean Thanos was planning to use them to wipe out half of all life across the galaxy." Rhodes adds.
"They can do that?" Scott asks in legit surprise.
"Half of the entire Universe." Nebula says in a deep and brooding voice, causing Scott Lang to jump.
"Oh god. I forgot you were there." Ant-Man says.
"Now's not the time to joke, Honey." Hope pinches Scott's shoulder rather hard, causing her to wince. No one notices except Rhodes.
"Sorry." Scott says, before Hope lets her go.
"Can these stones..." Hank Pym jumps in, "Can they really do that? Do they have that much power?"
"Yes." Nebula responds. "They're connected to everything and all of existence. Even with the gauntlet, there was so much power my father was certain using them would kill him." The room goes silent for a moment.
"Talk about commitment." James Rhodes says. "So basically, we have six stones with unfathomable power that will most likely kill anyone that uses them."
"It's no wonder they don't want to use them." Scott says. "Is it really worth dying to fix something that seems so trivial?"
"But it's not trivial." Wanda speaks up now. "So many people were healed from the snap. Live's saved, and changed."
"Lives saved?" Scott asks.
"Honey! Pay attention." Hope says annoyed.
"Wanda's right." Vision says. "If we undo the snap, what happens to all the people cured of sickness, disease, disabilities, and injuries? Will they just go back to their old lives willingly?"
"That definitely makes using the stones sound less appealing. James Rhodes says.
"And who's to say they'll wish for that?" Hank Pym speaks up this time. They all look toward her now. "If it were me, I'd wish for my youth back... Maybe someone else would wish for all power, or even worse, to end all life."
"End all life?" Scott asks. "Would someone really want that?"
"Possibly." Vision answers. "Let's not forget, Ultron wasn't even self aware for more than a minute and he concluded mass extinction was the key to peaceful existence."
"Who's Ultron?" Janet asks.
"He was an artificial intelligent robot that went rogue." Scott Lang answers. "Tried to end the world."
"Oh, kind of like that Terminator movie you made me watch." Janet says to Hank.
Scott and Hope look at each other surprised then turn toward Hank. "You like Terminator?" Scott asks.
"We saw it in theaters." Hank responds. Hope and Scott still look surprised. "Back in 1984. I was a scientist. Why wouldn't I be interested in the movie back then?" Hank snaps in self defense.
Scott turns back toward James, while Hope continues to judge her father playfully. "So we can't trust robots either." Scott says. "No offense." She tells Vision next.
"None taken." Vision responds with a chuckle.
"Even if we do find someone," Rhodes continues the conversation, "who's to say they don't screw it up again."
"Screw it up again?" Wanda asks.
"Yeah." Rhodes responds. "Do you really think Thanos wanted to change half the universe's gender?"
"Something must have confused him." Nebula answers. "His original wish was to end half of all life. But he also considered ending discrimination. He thought changing everyone's gender could accomplish that."
"What are we talking about guys?" Bruce Banner asks. Scott Lang jumps in surprise. Bruce comes approaching from behind Nebula.
"Bruce!" Rhodes calls out. "We didn't see you come in."
"Yeah!" Scott says. "How long have you been standing there?"
She thinks for a moment. "I came in at, "We can't trust robots.""
"We're discussing using the infinity stones." Rhodes tells Bruce. "To change everyone back."
Bruce's face takes on a hint of a sad look that goes almost completely unnoticed. "I suppose we can worry about that, when the time comes." She changes the subject. "Captain Rogers is awake."
An air of relief seems to fill the room as they all take in the good news.
"That's wonderful." James Rhodes replies. "Can we go see her?"
"Yes, that's why I'm here." Bruce responds. "Let's go."
Rhodes leads the way as Wanda, Vision, Scott, Hope, Hank, and Janet get up to follow. As they are leaving the room, Bruce sees Nebula staying behind.
"You aren't coming?" Bruce asks him.
"I probably shouldn't," Nebula responds. "After what my father did to her... After everything he's done, I probably shouldn't even be on this planet."
"Hey." Bruce interrupts him. "It's ok. You're on our side. She'll understand."
"But..." Nebula starts to protest.
"Listen." Bruce interrupts him again. She takes a few steps forward and starts to grow into her larger form. In a matter of seconds she is much taller than Nebula who can hardly look away. He is captivated by the Hulk's beauty. Hulk reaches out and takes Nebula's left hand. "We've all been monsters before." Hulk tells Nebula. "We've all been on the wrong side and done bad things."
Hulk leans down and locks eyes with Nebula. "But what really matters is, you're doing the right thing now, with people that care for you." Hulk's words seem to really impact Nebula. For the first time in years, he feels like the helpless girl that Thanos stole away. "Now come say hello to the Captain." Hulk requests. "You're one of us now."
Nebula has to fight back tears, but reluctantly says, "Yes."
The Hulk smiles and says, "Let's go." She begins to turn back into the smaller female Bruce as she turns away and leads Nebula out of the room, never letting go of his hand.