sunset. [wanda maximoff]

2.6

"How we looking, Bruce?"

Scottie turned her head to see Bruce was utterly impressed with the suit, running and jumping over rocks as if it was what he was born to do.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it. Wow! It's like being the Hulk without actually..." Bruce stopped talking with a yelp as the heavy metal foot of the suit hit a rock and caused the man to fall flat on his face while the carriers rode by him. Scottie noticed the fierce Okoye giving him the most disgusted look she had ever seen, causing a small smile to fall on her face at the sight.

Her brief moment of peace was interrupted by Rhodey's voice on the comms reminding her that this was a battle now - not just a small fight that she was used to.

"I got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line."

While Scottie wasn't quiet able to make out who the two figures were that she could see, she knew that it was two of Thanos' goons for sure. Natasha squeezed the girls hand gently in solidarity before their carriers slowly swerved to a tilt as everyone jumped off them.

Scottie was not quite as smooth, stumbling slightly until Bucky grabbed her with his metal arm and steadied the girl from falling over like Bruce had done only minutes prior in the Hulkbuster armour. She thanked the man as she held on to his arm for just a second, allowing herself to regain her senses.

"Scottie, stay on me." Steve muttered, knowing that she was easily the least experienced person for battle out of everyone in Wakanda. While Bruce also had little war knowledge, he had at least got a significantly large protective shell currently wrapped around him.

The blonde nodded, falling into place just behind Steve's left flank. She knew him well enough to know that he would only be able to help her stay alive if she listened to what he told her to do. Natasha fell into place beside her, almost as if her and Steve were protecting her from the aliens that they were approaching.

It took Scottie less than a few seconds to notice that it was only the trio and T'Challa in his Blank Pather suit that were approaching the barrier to meet with the aliens. She supposed this was how all war fights began - a failed negotiation.

"Where's your other friend?" Natasha teased, hoping to find out if the other alien they had met in the train station was dead like expected.

The female alien hissed at them through the barrier, her sword slashing against it as she tested the strength of it. "You will pay for his life with yours. Thanos will have that stone and its power."

Scottie felt a chill run down her spine at the second meaning in the sentence that the alien had uttered. If what she previously thought was happening, and the stone was what was giving Scottie her powers, then it meant that Thanos was going to need to go through her to get the full potential of the stone.

"That's not gonna happen." Steve told the alien, his hand firmly squeezing Scottie's before letting T'Challa take over.

"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."

"We... have blood to spare."

Scottie yelped in disgust as strange, mutated alien dogs started to pool from the ships behind the alien. Steve nodded to T'Challa as they knew this was time for them to head back to their army and prepare for the bloodshed that was about to happen.

"Did they surrender?" Bucky almost joked as the four returned back to the front line, Scottie almost being herded by Steve and Natasha to stay with them. They knew the girl was capable of holding her own in previous battles, but this was different.

"Not exactly."

Scottie shot Natasha and Steve one more look before jumping as T'Challa began the war chant that she had been told about but never witnessed herself. Shouts of 'YIBAMBE' were heard across the grounds as they all prepared themselves for the attack of the strange dog creatures.

"What the hell?" Bucky questioned as he studied the creatures, nothing but pure disgust on his face. Scottie had to remind herself that while the rest of them had seen aliens before, Bucky was the only one who actually probably had not.

"Looks like we pissed her off," Natasha quirked, trying to keep Scottie from freaking out at the sight of the demon like creatures in front of them. Everyone looked on horrified as the Outrider creatures threw themselves at the forcefield, their bodies and heads being chopped off as they tried their hardest to break the barrier.

"They're killing themselves," Oyoke muttered, disgust in her voice as she studied the scene that was playing out.

Scottie looked at her mentors for a brief moment before she turned to face Natasha and Steve, turning her comm off for a brief second so that Wanda would not hear the information she was about to place on them before the battle.

"On the topic of killing themselves..." Scottie said abruptly, making Bucky, T'Challa, Steve and Nastaha all turn to look at her in confusion, "...Wanda destroying the stone might actually kill me because me and Vision found out that I might only be in existence aka alive because of my connection to the stone but it also might not and I might but fine but just to let yous know that if I drop dead at some point that might be why."

There was a pause in all of their emotions as they stared back at the girl who had essentially just word vomited her own possible death on them seconds before they were about to enter the toughest battle of their lives. Natasha was holding herself together from strangling the girl in front of her, very very furious at how Scottie was so close to sacrificing herself for them again without telling them all.

Just before anyone could reply, the Border Tribe soldiers all fell to their knees as they raised their shields, a few stray outriders having made it through the barrier intact and ready to attack the awaiting army. Scottie took this distraction to flex her wrists and turn her comm device back on, ready to help take down more aliens.

Scottie fired a few of the sunlight beams from her hands as the demons ran towards them. Unlike the guns that her fellow friends were using, and even the high tech laser spears that the army was using, her beams did not take a couple of shots to kill the creatures.

In fact, the second her beams came into contact with them, they seemingly exploded into a pile of flesh. Natasha and Steve sent her an impressed look as Scottie yelped in amazement, encouraging her to keep shooting towards the creatures.

"Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us... there's nothing between them and Vision," Bruce told them all, motioning to where the creatures were starting to spread out along the border protection line. Scottie paused at his words, knowing that if the creatures managed to get to Vision then the mission would fail.

"Them we better keep 'em in front of us."

"How do we do that?"

T'Challa caused for a moment before bringing his comm bracelet up to his mouth. "We open the barrier. On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."

"Requesting confirmation, my King. You said open the barrier?"

"On my signal."

Scottie shook in her shoes slightly as she realised they were about to enter headfirst into the bloodbath officially now. Natasha squeezed her shoulder once to reassure the girl that they could do this, that they would win this war.

"This will be the end of Wakanda," M'Baku muttered from a few spaces down from Scottie, and the girl didn't know how she was supposed to disagree with that. This was truly make or break for them all. There was no hesitation in Okoye's voice when she spoke. The strength and power in her tone reminded Scottie of why the woman was a general in the country.

"Then it will be the noblest ending in history."