Man, either this new computer is way more motivating than my last one, or being alone on New Years Eve is super motivating.

Yes, that's right...another chapter. Unheard of in such a short time buy me, I know!

Thanks to Rainbow Haired Girl for following :)

Enjoy

xo

Chapter 27

Flattery

Bucky continued to shoot at aliens that came charging towards him, occasionally seeing Lex in the corner of his eye as she fought off aliens on her own. She was holding her own fairly well, even without a rifle or blaster, but he worried she might tire soon.

"How are you holding up, Lex?" he called as he took aim at another alien that seemed to think sneaking up behind her was a good idea.

"Me? I'm good," she answered, pairing her stave with one of her blades, knocking an alien's gnashing claws away from her first, before plunging the blade into the creature's neck and twisting. She glanced back at Bucky as she flicked alien blood and gunk off her knife and hand. "Why, you getting tired, young fella?"

Bucky smirked, shaking his head. "Please, old woman, this is a stroll in the park."

She raised her eyebrows in response, and looked like she might say something back, but both were soon distracted by a rumbling sound and the ground beginning to shake beneath their feet. Lex turned to look out towards the ships embedded into the tree line. "That doesn't sound good…"

Bucky was inclined to agree, and he watched as the trees surrounding the spaceships began to go up in flames, and the ground around them begin to warp like a wave beginning to form off the shoreline on the coast.

"Crap." Lex stood a little straighter and her eyes widened as they watched the ground and flames rush towards the shield barrier. "WATCH OUT!" she shouted in Xhosa.

T'Challa heard her and turned to see what her warning was referring to. The ground rapidly crushed against the barrier, and it was then that Bucky noticed there was definitely something large and fast rushing towards them…underground. T'Challa began to shout orders. "FALL BACK! FALL BACK NOW!"

Bucky was quick to turn and run, still shooting at the aliens that tried to attack him, no sense of self preservation in the stead of the mysterious weapon currently rushing towards them at great speed.

As the tidal wave of dirt smacked against the barrier, whatever was causing it passed beneath the barrier, unimpeded, before rising to the surface. It appeared to be some sort of giant wheel, with a multitude of razor-sharp teeth that dug at the ground as it sped along the ground.

All along the sector of the barrier were several of these wheels, which ripped through the Wakandan soldiers and aliens alike, no discrimination against who it destroyed.

Bucky was so focused on trying to avoid the razor laden wheels, he didn't notice an alien charging at him until it was too late. The creature lunged at him, pinning him to the ground, before trying to bite down on him. It latched onto his Vibranium arm, its teeth and his arm making a horrible grinding noise. He tried to manoeuvre his arm, so that he might be able to get it out of the alien's mouth and do some damage, but although the alien couldn't break the arm, it had a firm hold of it.

The alien made to try and shake him, turning its head slightly. However, its movement was soon impeded by a spear breaching one side of its skull and appearing out the other. Bucky clenched his jaw in disgust as the alien's blood splattered onto him. Lex leaned over the top of the alien to look at him, as the alien's jaw tension slackened off.

"Whenever you're done mucking around, Bucky," she mocked, raising her eyebrows expectantly. He grimaced at her, before she grinned back down at him and looked up behind her. "Got to go…" she was gone before he could say anything more to her, before struggling out from beneath the alien.

The razor wheels raced across the grasslands of Wakanda, destroying everything in their path. Rhodey and Sam flew overhead, both trying to cause some damage to the weapons.

"Focus that fire on the left flank, Sam," Rhodey instructed, dropping his own payload onto the weapons.

"I'm doing it!" Sam shouted back, banking sharply, before pulling out his guns and firing onto one of the wheels, causing little to no damage.

As they soared overhead, they flew over Natasha and Okoye, who were doing their best to fight off aliens between them. They both turned as a large set of razor wheels raced straight for them. Both of them held their arms up, bracing for the impact of the monstrous weapons.

Suddenly, a red glow appeared before them, encircling the wheels and lifting them from the ground. Wanda landed behind them, her eyes and hands glowing red as she forced her powers to lift the giant wheels high into the air. She turned to see more aliens charging towards them from behind her, opting to split the wheels apart and throwing them onto the grasslands on either side of the two women and herself, crushing the surrounding aliens.

Okoye and Natasha both straightened, looking at Wanda in awe as she turned to look at them, seeing if they were alright.

The Dora General was the first one to speak, as she spun her spear lazily. "Why was she up there all this time?" she demanded of Natasha. The small Russian just smiled at Wanda, grateful for the help.

Lex ran up behind Natasha, looking between her, Okoye and Wanda. "You kids okay?" she asked looking at the wheels crashed alongside them.

"And where have you been all this time?" Okoye demanded, looking her up and down. "You look terrible."

"Oh, hi Lex, yes, we're fine, thanks for asking…" Lex mocked, looking pointedly at Okoye. The General narrowed her eyes at Lex for a moment, before she began to grin.

Before anyone could say anymore, Sam soared overhead and called over their comms. "Guys, we got a Vision situation here." He was tackled out of the sky by an alien before he could get to the humanoid and help him.

Steve dodged an alien, before punching another one before shouting through his comms. "Somebody get to Vision!"

Lex looked towards Shuri lab, before spinning her stave expertly. "On it." She took off at a sprint.

Wanda and Bruce also turned their attention to Shuri's lab.

"I got him!" Bruce shouted, activating the thrusters on the Hulk Buster and taking off through the sky.

"On my way," Wanda said, but before she could join Lex, she was attacked with a knock to the head, landing in a ditch caused by the monstrous wheels that she had just destroyed.

She rolled onto her front, before trying to crawl away. Her attacker grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, flipping her onto her back. She looked up to see it was one of the aliens that had attacked Vision when he was visiting her in the UK. The female alien looked down at her with disdain, towering over her with scowl on her face.

"He'll die alone. As will you," the alien said in a low, menacing voice. Wanda glared back up at the alien, not taking her eyes from her, contempt written all over her face.

"She's not alone."

The alien furrowed her brow in annoyance, turning around to see the owner of the voice. Natasha smirked slightly at the alien, knowing she had gotten the better of her once already. Okoye stepped up behind the alien, swinging her spear challengingly before pointing its sharp tip towards the alien, a look of grim determination on her face.

The alien clenched her jaw, sizing up the Dora Milaje General, before looking back to Natasha. She growled, before charging at the Russian, yelling as she leapt onto the bank of the ditch and leapt at the Black Widow.

Okoye was quick to run after her, aiding Natasha to fight off their larger alien foe. Wanda shuffled back quickly as the two fighters began to work together and began pushing back the larger alien, Okoye leaping forward when the alien fended off Natasha's attack and forced her backwards.

The two did their best to fight off the alien, but she was much stronger than both of them. She knocked them both backwards, and was about to bring her bladed staff down, when there was a sudden blur of black and blonde, and the alien was sent flying backwards, rolling backwards before landing back on her feet. She held her chest and looked back towards the Natasha and Okoye.

Lex looked at the alien with her head tilted to one side her mouth twisted into menacing smile as she brandished her stave, spinning it a few times. "Oh boy, this is gonna be fun." She emphasised the word 'fun', holding her stave before her in a readied stance. The alien was quick to her feet, to charge back at Lex.

"You were supposed to be helping Vision!" Wanda exclaimed from her spot on the ground before getting back to her feet, as Lex started to attack the alien woman.

"Bruce has got it," Lex retorted as she ducked another swing of the alien's bladed staff. Okoye and Natasha were quick to their feet to assist Lex.

"Guys! Vision needs back up. NOW!" Bruce's voice came over the comms.

"Aww, crap." Lex grimaced as she blocked another strike from the alien. Okoye and Natasha took turns trying to distract the alien, all three working to try and wear down the alien's defence. As they did so, one of the razor equipped wheels whirred towards them, all four ducking slightly as it easily jumped over the ditch they were in.

Lex, who was currently holding the alien's bladed staff at bay, caught Wanda's eye as she flung the alien backwards again. The alien charged at her again, and she ducked, but the alien continued on to kick at Natasha, knocking her onto her back and winding her, before catching Okoye's spear as she tried to swing it down at her, throwing her away like she was nothing at all.

Lex stood up straight, breathing a little heavier than normal. "I got to give it to you, I haven't had a workout like this in ages."

The alien smirked in response to Lex's compliment. "If you think flattery will save you, you're sadly mistaken." The alien charged at her again, and although Lex was able to disarm her of her bladed staff, the alien kicked at one of her knees, knocking her off balance and causing her to drop to one knee. The alien then unsheathed a long blade hidden in her bracer of her right arm. She slashed at Lex, catching her across her own armour, before slashing upwards slightly and catching Lex across her cheek.

Lex fell back in surprise, quickly bringing her stave up to block another strike by the alien with great ease. There was a ringing as their two weapons met with a bang. The alien seemed slightly surprised at how strong Lex was, her eyes widening. Lex grinned slightly, before glancing behind the alien, her grin widening as blood seeped from the wound on her cheek.

"Am I though?"

The alien narrowed her eyes in confusion as the ground around them began to rumble, and a red glow started to form around her body. She was lifted high into the air, just as one of the large wheels with razor sharp teeth appeared and bounced over the ditch they were currently in.

Lex smiled lightly as she sat up, before looking around at the other women in the ditch with her. Okoye pushed herself up from her stomach, looking at Lex with a weary expression. "Flattery, will get you everywhere."

She looked over at Natasha, who sat up and looked back at them, blue alien blood splatter on her pale skin. "That's really gross."

Lex stifled a laugh before getting back to her feet, before she turned to look towards the base of the mountain where Shuri's lab was situated. They heard the sounds of Steve Rogers fighting someone over the comms and telling Vision to run. She looked to Wanda, a serious expression gracing her features. "We should get back to your boyfriend."

They both turned and ran from the ditch.

Steve heard Lex approach him from behind, the leaves crunching quietly under her feet. If he hadn't been listening for her, he might have missed the sound. "Cap. What's up?" she asked, slowing to stop beside him. When he didn't respond straight away, she looked about as well. Something was coming. Something big. Something powerful.

Steve looked sideways at Lex, who furrowed her brow, a serious expression gracing her usually stunning features. That concerned him, the only times he saw her looking that serious was usually when the extra component in her system was triggered. He raised his hand to his commlink. "Everyone, on my position. We have incoming."

Lex took a low and slow breath, before swinging her stave slowly in one hand and moving to stand before Steve, both watching for any sign of what was coming. The others soon joined them, moving into the forest with extreme vigilance. The forest was silent, all but their breathing.

Suddenly, in the distance, there was a gust of wind that seemed to appear from nowhere, along with a circle of smoke and strange light emanating from it. Everyone was instantly on the alert. Steve noted that Lex seemed to tense in front of him. He wondered where Bucky was, he could certainly use his friend's help right about now. Three Super Soldier's were definitely better than two, even if the one he did have with him was borderline psychotic.

Banner murmured into his commlink through the Hulk Buster. "Cap." Steve's attention was brought back to a man that appeared in the smoke ahead. "That's him." He was purple, which really should have surprised Steve, but nothing did that anymore. He had just battled wave upon wave of aliens, how was this ever going to surprise him?

The alien before him was huge, easily bigger than him, and almost bigger than Thor, who Steve noted was also missing at this moment. Not a comforting thought.

Steve raised his fist, activating one of the shields on his wrist, gifted to him by Shuri and T'Challa. It grew in size, covering his fist, as he began walking to the front of his gathered comrades. "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

The large purple alien threat, Thanos, began walking towards them, a look of contempt on his face. The first to attack him was Banner, in the Hulk Buster suit. He launched himself in the air, raising a fist as he attacked Thanos.

Thanos raised his gauntleted fist, one of the stones embellishing his knuckles glowing blue. The Hulk Buster began to glow blue, and as he dove at Thanos, he became transparent and completely faded through Thanos. The purple alien turned, still focusing his attention on the Hulk Buster suit as Banner crashed to the ground and rolled, before landing roughly against a cliff face. Or so he should have. Instead the faded into the rock wall, before solidifying again, the rock forming around his body.

Steve watched in disbelief as Banner tried to struggle free, to no avail.

He saw Lex look over her shoulder at him. "Steve, this doesn't look good. We need to get Vision out of here or come up with a better plan."

"We just need to stop him. Do whatever it takes!" Steve urged, rushing forward past her himself. He charged at Thanos, who continued to walk calmly towards Vision. As Steve approached, raising his fist to strike, Thanos waved his gauntleted arm, the motion almost careless. A purple wave of matter picked Steve up easily, throwing his aside like a piece of paper.

He landed in the undergrowth, looking back in time to see T'Challa also being thrown aside. Sam soared in, guns blazing as he swooped down. Thanos raised his gauntlet again, using its power to bring Sam crashing down at his feet. Lex was backing up towards Wanda and Vision as Steve struggled back to his feet.

"You guys, I don't want to rush you guys, but you should either come up with an escape plan, or consider the final solution," she said, eyeing Thanos off as Rhodey tried to stop him with a barrage of artillery, that was doing absolutely nothing to the six-foot alien. She looked back and Wanda was glaring at her. "Just saying."

Steve began running back towards Lex, seeing that she was preparing to defend Wanda, as the teen summed up the courage to do what needed to be done. As he did, he heard shouting from across the way, seeing Bucky come charging through the trees, his sub-machine gun raised and shooting at Thanos.

The alien activated his gauntlet again, the power throwing Bucky back. As Steve ran towards Lex, he saw her eyes grow wide as Bucky landed heavily on the ground, dropping his gun and laying still.

Okoye threw her spear at the alien, and Natasha charged towards him alongside her, before both were flung away easily by a wave of Thanos' hand, before he used his gauntlet to trap Natasha within a stone and earth made prison, but all Steve could see was Lex's face. In particular, her eyes. Her face became blank, her eyes darkening to black.

It was almost like the whole forest became still as he watched her trigger.

She charged at the alien, her face contorting to an angry snarl, as she unleashed on the alien. He went to grab her about the throat, but she easily avoided his grasp, using her stave to knock away his hand, before flipping and bringing a knee down against the gauntlet. It seemed to stun him momentarily, but whether it was the actual blow that stunned him or the speed she was currently moving at, Steve couldn't be sure. As she landed, she brought her stave between the alien's legs, dragging his left foot out from beneath him, and making him stumble.

She then raised the stave quickly, the blue Vibranium blade slicing into the alien's face, then his shoulder. Steve was still running towards her when the alien finally managed to block one of her blows, knocking her stave away. It didn't faze her, and she moved to attack again, but the alien caught her punch and hoisted her into the air by her fist. With his other hand he formed a fist, punching her in the gut. Steve sprinted faster to try and save his friend.

"You have fire, child. I knew someone like that once, she was dear to me."

Lex, her eyes still completely blacked out, didn't respond immediately and Steve feared the worst. He slid along the ground, before turning to face the alien who looked down in surprise at him as he punched at his knee. Lex finally moved, kicking out at him and connecting with his rib cage as Steve struck at his face, connecting with his chin and snapping the alien's head backwards.

Thanos dropped Lex, who moved to try and move behind the mad titan, but Thanos activated his gauntlet, a wave of purple matter hitting her roughly and sending her flying backwards into a tree, before he activated another of the stones on his gauntlet, causing the ground to rise and trap her in place. She lay still, her eyes closed.

Steve looked back to Thanos in time to see the mad titan move to grab at him. He caught the purple alien's hand, fighting to hold it in place. Thanos glared at him, sneering at him as he tried to push against the super soldier.

Steve began to yell, trying to force the alien back, but to no avail, as the mad titan pulled his gauntleted hand away from the former captain, before pummelling him with a closed fist. Steve fell to the ground, everything around him growing dark.

Oh...boy...

xo

Krayzee