"Daughter?" Thanos said. The Mad Titan's mind was racing. He was looking at someone who greatly resembled his Gamora. But it couldn't be her. He was looking at a little girl, not the woman he knew her to be. And the last time he had seen her, he had-

"Did you do it?" Gamora asked, gazing up at her father. The orange background and the temple she stood under cast her in shadow.

"Yes." Thanos choked out. He averted his eyes from his daughter. Gamora didn't look away. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"What did it cost?" Gamora asked. It was spoken as casually as though his mad ambitions of erasing half of the universe was something her father had purchased at the market. But her face was contorted with rage and despair.

Thanos returned Gamora's gaze. The answer came easier this time.

"Everything."

…

"What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" Thor said, a rage not unlike Gamora's rising.

Thanos used the space stone to teleport away from Wakanda. Stormbreaker exited the Mad Titan's chest as he did so, falling to the ground with a thud.

"Where did he go? Thor? Where did he go?"

Captain America, clutching the stitch in his chest and breathing heavily, walked up, feeling even more lost than when he had woken up from his coma and ran outside to face the world that had moved on without him.

"Steve?"

Captain America turned around to gaze upon his oldest friend. The White Wolf was the last thing he saw before he died.

Captain America.

White Wolf marched over to where his friend had vanished and examined the dust that lay where he had disappeared. His vibranium arm reached out and grabbed a handful of it, squeezing it in his hand.

…

Ramonda.

Across the battlefield, members of the Wakandan army and Chitauri Berserkers alike met the same fate. All a simple man like M'Baku could do was die a warrior's death.

"WAKANDA FOREVER!"

M'Baku.

"Up, general. Up!" Black Panther held his hand out to help his most trusted soldier to her feet. "This is no place to die."

But her arm disintegrated between his fingertips.

Okoye.

"NO!" Black Panther roared, wheeling around and extending his claws. "THANOS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PEOPLE?"

Nakia. Mother. Shuri. M'Baku.

Black Panther rapidly pulled up his holographic communication systems and called up Nakia. No answer. The same was true for Ramonda and M'Baku, but when he called Shuri, she immediately answered.

"Brother!" Shuri said. "I - I am sorry. One of Thanos' assassins - they ambushed us - I tried to stop him, but they got Vision. Where are you? Is the Vision dead?"

"I'm in the forest. I don't know the answer to that." Black Panther said. "But something is happening. Okoye is dead, and mother isn't responding to my calls. Gather your team, bring medical services to the battlefield. And send somebody to try to find our mother. Hurry!"

"Yes, T'Challa." Shuri agreed. "I love you."

"I love you too. Stay safe, stay alert." Black Panther then went stalking off in search of his fellow Avengers. The first person he came within earshot of was a tree the size of a man with a head, two arms and two legs.

"I am Groot?" The tree asked.

"You. You came with the thunder god. You helped us fight Thanos." Black Panther said. "Do you have any idea what's happening?"

"I am Groot!" The tree said again.

"I said, do you have any idea what's happening?" Black Panther repeated impatiently. "Can I speak to your companion?"

The tree seemed to realize something.

"I am Groot." The tree gave a mournful look, tears filling its black eyes as it wandered off aimlessly.

"Useless." Black Panther snorted. "The thunder god has eight realms at his beck and call, and yet he brings a rodent and a plant for reinforcements. The unconquered realm seems to be the only one of the nine to pull its own weight these days…"

…

"I failed you." Thor bowed his head, kneeling on the ground. "I failed you all. Forgive me."

"Thor?" Black Widow wandered around the corner. "Hey, goldilocks. I'm trying to get everyone to meet up over here, get a head count. I told them to meet us near you. Bucky, have you seen Cap?"

"Cap's dead, Nat." White Wolf said, walking over and tossing aside the handful of dust.

"Oh, Cap." Black Widow said, sinking to the ground. "Not you. Please don't leave this all to me. I don't want to have to do this without you."

"I'm not worthy." Thor lifted Stormbreaker, and slammed the blade into the ground. "I can't be trusted with this power. Let someone who deserves to lead my people take it. I'm done."

"Thor, don't be-" Black Widow pulled at Stormbreaker's handle in order to hand it to her comrade, only for it to not budge.

Bruce Banner strode over in the lurking Hulkbuster armor.

"Hey, big guy." Black Widow said. "Gimme a hand with this?"

Bruce tried to use the Hulkbuster's arm to lift Stormbreaker, but it similarly didn't move.

"You told me you don't need weapons anymore." Bruce said sadly. "That you're the god of thunder, not the god of hammers."

"I'm not the god of anything." Thor said. "You saw Asgard laid waste with your own eyes, Banner. My parents are dead. Hela is dead. Loki is dead. There are no more heirs to Asgard."

"Don't talk like that." Bruce said. "You're still here."

"Not for long." Thor said. "Even if death itself wasn't such a bad thing with the knowledge that the gates of Valhalla shall swing open the moment life leaves my breast, this is not such a bad place to die. I am in nature. I am with friends. And whoever the hell this Bucky person is. Are you an Avenger?"

"Yes. Maybe. I don't know." White Wolf confessed.

"Then I officially induct thee, Bucky, into the Avengers. Make things a little less ambiguous." Thor used his hand to knight White Wolf. "I'd usually do this with my preferred weapon of choice, but I just gave it away, you see. I hope this suffices."

"I accept this mission." White Wolf said.

"Ah. I feel my time is… nearing." Thor gasped. "Somebody needs to tell someone that my people are still out there. They'll need someone to protect them. Can you promise me that, Bucky? That you'll carry my message?"

"Yes." White Wolf said. "I promise."

"Good. That's what heroes do." Thor lay down on his back and gazed up at the sky. "Farewell, my friends. I shall close my eyes and breathe deep the slumber of the gods… for awhile, at least…"

Thor.

Bruce's face twitched, and he staggered away to get some distance, huffing and wheezing.

"Bruce!" Black Widow stood up, ready for action. White Wolf cocked his gun behind her.

A green hand burst from the armored glove, tearing the Hulk out of Bruce's body.

"NATASHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA." Bruce said. "I'M SO SORRAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"

"Hey, big guy." Black Widow reached out her hand. "Sun's getting real low."

"WHY FRIENDS DIE?" Hulk asked, pulling his hand away from Black Widow's grasp. "YOU KILL HIM, PRETTY-BOY?"

"No, he didn't." Black Widow said, stepping a little closer. "It was Thanos. He's somewhere in space-"

"THANOS WANT KILL HULK, TOO? MAKE FRIENDS GO AWAY? HULK NO LET HIM! HULK KILL THANOS FIRST!" Hulk roared. He tore off what was left of suit and ran off, getting smaller and smaller as Black Widow and White Wolf watched him run off until he was nothing more than a green speck in the sky as the sun began to set on the Wakandan skyline.

"It's not your fault either, Bruce." Black Widow whispered.

…

"Sam! Sam, where you at?" War Machine cried out.

"Ugh. Here. On my ass." Falcon groaned, helping himself up. "Ow. Landed on my side, kinda funny. Did we get the purple guy?"

"Naw. Not this time." War Machine said. "But we will. We lost the battle, but the war isn't over."

"Oh, ow. Ow ow ow ow." Falcon said. "I think my ribs are busted."

"You need my help to walk?" War Machine asked. "Those wings of yours look clipped."

"I can do this. I'm right behind you." Falcon said. "On your left. Damn. Okay. That's not happening."

"It's okay to ask for help, soldier. I know the feeling." War Machine reached out and supported Falcon as the two Avengers walked over to the clearing where Black Widow had told them to go.

"Hey, listen. We didn't get the chance to talk earlier. Or, maybe I was too chicken to put it into words. I'm sorry about how we left things off, man." Falcon said. "I understand if you blame me for what happened."

"It's nothing." War Machine said briskly. "It was just a bad day on the job. You're not the one who forced Zemo to dick around with the Hydra base. You were just doing what you felt was right. Same with me. You sound like Vision. Poor guy was kicking himself for what happened at the airport. But I forgave him a long time ago, and I forgave Team Cap a long time ago as well."

The two men walked what resembled a three-legged race to the rendezvous area.

"You know, until I found out about the panther lore, I honestly thought I was the first black superhero." War Machine mused. "Got asked about it in every interview I did after getting the suit. If I was the "Black Avenger." Then you came along, and all of the sudden I'm not the only one on the lunchboxes anymore."

"How'd that make you feel?" Falcon asked.

"Annoyed. Relieved. Everything in between." War Machine shrugged. "But then I learned you served too and everything clicked. You know what was the best part, though? It was touring schools. Telling them to stay there, study hard, shit like that. All those kids that look like us looked up to me. Whether I was calling myself Iron Patriot or War Machine, our people could look to the sky and know one of us was up there watching over them. Now there's three."

"And more on the way if we did our job right." Falcon glanced over at the battlefield. "Who do you think will be the next us?"

"We'll find out soon enough." War Machine said. "After I saw what T'Challa was able to accomplish after he went public, I got to thinking. Team Iron Man was doing fine holding the fort during peacetime, but we need more soldiers if we're going to win wars. There were two spots open on the team if you don't count the kid, and I was looking to find the next us."

"The next us?" Falcon repeated. "You mean, the next Black Avenger?"

"Not just brothers and sisters. But folks who don't fit into the black or white categories, or have disabilities but still have a special need to kick some ass. That's been weighing on my mind lately." War Machine explained. "And some more ladies, for chrissakes. Since y'all stole Natasha and Wanda away from us we've been getting serious flack from Buzzfeed. I was just about to propose it to Ross today when the donut came out of the sky and took Tony."

"Did you make the Black Avenger offer to those Grace Jones-looking ladies with the spears?" Falcon asked. "They check at least two boxes."

"Tried." War Machine laughed. "I haven't seen somebody give me a look like that since I asked my Momma if she wanted to borrow my dad's shaving kit."

"You did WHAT?" Falcon let out a low whistle. "How are you still alive, Rhodey?"

"That's easy, Sam. I'm a survivor." War Machine said. The two came within eyesight of their fellow Avengers, and War Machine waved at them.

War Machine.

Now unsupported, Falcon wobbled uncertainty, then collapsed to the ground.

"Augh. Ah, no. They got you too, brother." Falcon said sadly as White Wolf and Black Widow helped to lean him against a tree. "They got you too."

…

"Wanda Maximoff?"

Scarlet Witch glanced up at Black Panther.

"Romanoff told me to meet the Avengers here." Black Panther said. "Are you injured?"

Scarlet Witch shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she cradled the Vision's body.

"Good. That's good." Black Panther muttered to himself. "If it's any solace, you saved Bast knows how many lives on the battlefield. I am indebted to you for that. Me and my people will do everything in my power to try and reawaken the Vision. I promise you this on the penalty of my own life."

Scarlet Witch didn't respond, burying her head on Vision's body as her body racked with sobs. Black Panther hesitated, reaching out to awkwardly pat his fellow Avenger on the shoulder and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he seemed to think better of it. Better to have someone who knew her well tell her that. Someone like-

"Agent Romanoff?" Black Panther gestured at

"Coming." Black Widow trotted over to Scarlet Witch, and embraced her teammate.

"Everything is going to be okay."

Black Widow.

Black Widow hadn't noticed her own death because she was so preoccupied with tending to the grief of her friend. Scarlet Witch didn't seem to have noticed either, or cared for that matter.

It was a peculiar gathering. Black Panther, Falcon, Scarlet Witch and White Wolf all seemed committed to maintaining the silence (beyond the Scarlet Witch's occasional, tiny moans) until Shuri skidded into the clearing as well. She looked far older beyond her young years then when T'Challa had last seen her in person. The king of Wakanda ran over and embraced his sister, squeezing tightly.

"Shuri. Have you heard from Mother?"

"No." Shuri said. "I did get in touch with her bodyguards, though. They lost track of her. T'Challa, I think we might have to prepare for the possibility that we've been orphaned."

Black Panther gripped Shuri even tighter. A deathly silence fell across the clearing. The silence was broken by Scarlet Witch.

"Bozhei moi."

Black Panther looked over Shuri's shoulder to see Scarlet Witch's head had lifted up, her arms still wrapped around Vision's husk. Tears still streaked her face, but all emotion seemed to have left her body.

"I am Groot?" The dumb sentient tree that Black Panther had encountered earlier was the last person who seemed to have responded to Black Widow's call, even though like Shuri before him he had not been invited nor was he an Avenger.

"The last thing that went through Natasha's head before she died." Scarlet Witch said simply, unfazed by the species of the being that had just asked her this question. "Bozhe moi. The same thing for Steve as well. Not Rhodey, though. He was just happy to see all of us together again."

"She said that all the time." Falcon muttered. "Would stub her toe, say bozhe moi. I can't believe I never got the chance to ask her what that meant. I had three years to ask, but I just never bothered. What does it mean?"

"It's Russian." White Wolf said grimly. "My handlers sometimes said it after they'd seen me finish my missions. In English, you'd say, oh my god."

"I am Groot." Groot echoed. This time, everyone knew exactly what he was saying.