(Be advised, this is a long chapter. About double the usual amount. Includes the entirety of Infinity War. [If you actually look at the movie, despite the runtime and the cuts between perspectives, it doesn't cover a lot of actual time.])
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❝ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟏𝟎𝟎-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬. ❞
THE KING BROUGHT them out of Shuri's lab and back to the city, specifically to the landing strip. Steve and whoever was with him, flew in past the shields over the lake, settling on the runway. Okoye grumbled something to the King as he and his Dora Milaje approached the quinjet.
The hatch opened, and out came Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, Bruce, Vision, and Wanda. Thaea was happy to see them again, but she waited off to the side with Bucky. The two had grown closer over the last eight months, and she could almost say that she was as close with him as she was with Steve. Maybe more-so, due to the respective circumstances she had spent time with the two. The King began to lead the large group toward the building behind them.
"How we looking?" Natasha asked.
"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and-"
"A semi-stable 100-year-old man." Bucky interrupted, walking forward. Thaea followed him, a step behind. He embraced Steve like the old friends they were.
"How you been, Buck?" Steve asked, smiling.
"Uh, not bad, for the end of the world," He replied. "Good company."
"I should think so." Thaea joked, stepping forward. She smiled to her old friends, giving Steve a half hug, Natasha a full hug, and Sam an interesting handshake. She waved in greeting to Rhodey, Bruce, Wanda and Vision.
T'Challa led them all back to Shuri's lab, and Steve filled Thaea in on the situation, via mind-link. While they travelled to the lab, Sam, Bucky, Rhodey and Thaea would stay at the platform. It was something she had learned how to do during her time here, and she could see and hear as if they had audio and visual feeds built into Steve's mind. They were headed to analyze Vision's make-up, hoping they could find a way to separate him from the mind stone. Thaea frowned, knowing first hand how much damage that thing could do.
"So, giant purple man coming down from the sky to kill us and half the universe, unless we stop him from getting the rock." Thaea summarized, earning an amused look but nod from the rest of their company.
"Sounds easy enough." Bucky said sarcastically as they waited on the landing platform. Shuri gave quick greetings before bringing Vision away and lying him down on a table. She used her kimoyo beads to scan and examine the stone.
"Woah." Banner marvelled at the technology.
"The structure is polymorphic." Shuri observed.
"Right. We had to attach each neuron non-sequentially." Banner explained.
"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" Shuri asked, confused. Even Vision turned to give the scientist a look.
"B-because we didn't think of it." Bruce stammered in reply. Shuri sighed, turning back to the diagram.
"I'm sure you did your best." She stated. Thaea had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh. Ultron definitely wouldn't have happened if Shuri was there. Bucky raised an eyebrow at her in question and she shook her head.
"Can you do it?" Wanda asked earnestly.
"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time, brother." She explained, turning to T'Challa. He nodded.
"How long?" Steve asked.
"As long as you can give me." She replied, not very specific. An alert sounded above, calling into the kimoyo beads of T'Challa and Okoye. The Dora Milaje leader pulled one out and examined the hologram it produced.
"Something's entered the atmosphere."
"That's our cue." Thaea said, cracking her neck.
"Hey, Cap, we got a situation, here." Sam called. Thaea pulled out of the link and looked up, watching as alien ships careened into the atmosphere, the first smashing and exploding into the top of the force field.
"God, I love this place." Bucky mumbled.
"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We've got more incoming outside the dome!" Rhodey called, now donning his War Machine suit. Thaea was glad he was back and fighting after his injury. Tony's work with prosthesis and the basically bionic legs he made for Rhodey was one of her favourites of his inventions. More ships crash landed into the beautiful fields and trees outside of Wakanda's capital. One of which directly landed in the garden she had worked so hard on.
"Now it's personal." She grumbled. Bucky made a disappointed face, and Thaea knew he developed as much of an emotional attachment to the plants as she did. It was more symbolic than anything else.
They hauled out Wakanda's armies toward the border, lining up and preparing for the battle about to ensue. Thaea had never fought in a battle with so many men on their side, but she didn't doubt they were likely outnumbered. She would do her best to remedy that.
"How are we looking, Bruce?" Natasha asked over comms.
"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it!" Bruce replied. He was thundering down beside their levitating platforms in a fortified Hulk-buster mark of Tony's suit. He used the thrusters and launched himself over a ship. "Woah, this is amazing, man! It's like being the Hulk without actually-" He tripped and fell on a rock. Thaea snickered. "Come on, Thaea. I haven't seen you in four years and now you laugh at me?"
"Only when you do something stupid, Bruce. You can count on it." She replied, grinning. He grumbled some sort of sarcastic response as they arrived at the barrier.
"I've got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line." Rhodey called out. Thaea glanced at their minds, just to take a look.
"Oooh, aliens." She stated, amazed by the differences between them and the human mind.
"Thanks, Thaea." Rhodey replied.
"Hey, it's nice to actually be around someone more like- oh, nope. Never mind. No way." She stopped herself from continuing her sentence as she took in the approaching figures. They were large, and humanoid, but Thaea definitely had more similarities to her human teammates. She got into formation at the front line, standing between Bucky and Nat. The former had an automatic rifle sitting on his shoulder. Steve, Nat, and T'Challa stepped forward to speak quickly with the aliens stepping through the tree-line.
"Sure you don't wanna switch sides?" Barnes asked from beside her. She gave him the side eye.
"Not on your 100-year life, Sergeant Barnes." She replied. He shook his head with a small smile. Steve, Natasha, and T'Challa returned to the lines.
"They surrender?" Bucky asked.
"Not exactly." Steve replied, scowling at the drop-ships. They rose out of the ground, and horns sounded. The ships released swaths of a creature Thaea didn't know how to describe. They had multiple arms and ran across the ground like wolves, but snapped from jaws that looked more like some type of nightmarish worm. T'Challa called out to his armies in their battle-cry, unifying the forces. The alien general raised their arm and released the packs from the trees.
"What the hell?" Bucky muttered.
"Looks like we pissed her off." Natasha stated.
"We?" Thaea asked, glancing at her friend. Natasha sent her a look before facing forward again. They hurled themselves into the border, their skin and muscle sizzling as the aliens slammed into the shield. It cut off their limbs, heads, and even half their bodies.
"They're killing themselves." Okoye whispered. The aliens continued, only the field was becoming weaker and weaker. A few of the aliens got through, their skin burnt and extra crispy, but hurtled themselves forward anyways. They were fast. As they got closer, T'Challa gave the command to fire volleys of repulser blasts from the vibranium spears. Bucky unleashed his rifle. While many of the blasts and bullets hit their targets, the aliens just wouldn't fall. Thaea put her hands up and unleashed the frozen tendrils of power, positively aching to release some of her pent up energy and anxiety. She tried to get into their heads, but their thoughts were primal, animalistic. They weren't humanoid enough to think rationally. They only had one goal- kill. She'd have an easier time trying to convince Bucky to tap-dance.
T'Challa stepped forward after deciding to open the barrier to keep them from surrounding them. He called out in Xhosa, putting on his helmet and unsheathing his vibranium claws.
"Wakanda forever!" He yelled as the armies surged forward. Thaea was nervous, having to rely mostly on her heightened strength and speed, but she was grateful to have a pair of long vibranium knives in her hands. She, Steve, Bucky and T'Challa pulled forward due to their extra speed. She launched herself into the throw of aliens, carving out their organs and eviscerating one after another. She slit their throats, slashed their limbs and chests, anything to keep them from getting up again. Why was it that in every battle they faced, she could not use her power? Except, that which she fought her friends, but this was different. Both armies collided with an intensity she would expect.
They held the lines relatively well, all things considered. The rabid and beastly opponents they faced attacking randomly, without strategy, without care for themselves, made it somewhat difficult. Thaea's senses perked up when she felt the two leaders enter through the opening in the barrier. They were in range. Her eyes glowed brightly and she grinned with the unleashing of her power as the veins speared for the opponent. She had no reason to hold back. A searing light came not only from her, but from behind her as an axe exited the flash of light, sparking with lighting and taking out around 25 of them. Thor stepped out, the light diminishing, accompanied by a young tree-man and a raccoon with a machine gun. Sweet.
Thaea chose to attack the larger general's mind, deeming him less intelligent and an easier target despite his size. He roared in pain as she seared his mind, his eyes flashing white and tripping over his own feet. He crumpled in fetal position, cradling his head in his hands. Thaea grinned.
"Bring me Thanos!" Thor cried as he launched into battle, surrounding himself and calling upon the power of thunder. His eyes glowed white and Thaea raised a singular eyebrow.
"Come and get some, space dogs!" The raccoon screamed, in English, surprisingly. He wore a little suit, too. Bucky grabbed him by the collar and they spun around, shooting in a circle and taking out the surrounding aliens. "Come on! Get some! Get some!" The raccoon yelled. Bucky put him down. "How much for the gun?" The raccoon asked.
"Not for sale." Bucky replied, raising an eyebrow at him as he shot more aliens.
"Okay. How much for the arm?" The raccoon asked. Bucky frowned at him before walking away. Thaea stifled her laugh, deeming it not appropriate for the situation. Thaea dropped her grip on the giant aliens mind, feeling him die beneath her fingers. She zeroed in around her, seeing Steve take out an alien that was reaching for her face.
"Thanks." She stated.
"Don't mention it." He replied. He turned to Thor, who took a step back with a deep breath. "New haircut?"
"I notice you've copied my beard." Thor shot back. Steve nodded, stroking the beard that now grew on his face.
"Seems like you both have a habit of copying." Thaea interjected, flashing her eyes at Thor, who shrugged.
"It is quite an awesome feature, if I do say so myself." He stated. Thaea nodded in agreement. "Oh, by the way, this is a friend of mine, Tree." He said, gesturing to the tree-man who impaled seven aliens at once on his long arm.
"I am Groot!" The tree yelled, throwing the dead alien bodies at the others.
"I am Steve Rogers." Cap replied, gesturing to himself. Thaea grinned as she swiped her swords across the napes of a pair of aliens. They both screeched and fell to the ground, their spinal cords and brain stems severed.
The aliens released a second wave, massive drills coming up from the underground and taking out entire legions of Wakandan soldiers. Thaea watched as Wanda flew down and pushed them back directly into enemy lines.
"Cap, we got a Vision situation!" Sam yelled over the chaos.
"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve yelled.
"On my way-" Wanda began before being struck to the ground by the other humanoid alien.
"He'll die alone. As will you." The half-blue woman snarled.
"She's not alone." Natasha replied from the side. Okoye was on the other side, twirling her spear, and Thaea brought up the middle. The blue woman yelled in rage as she jumped into a fighting stance, taking on Natasha first.
"She's stronger than the other one. I need to get on her shoulders." Thaea explained to Okoye. The Dora Milaje leader frowned, but nodded anyways as she launched into battle alongside The Black Widow. Another piece of drill flew overhead, and Thaea took that as her moment. After it passed, she jumped up, landing and crouching on the woman's shoulders. She cried out as Thaea gripped her horns, willing her to go limp. The body fell to the ground. Thaea screamed as the woman fought against her control, before letting loose and poisoning her mind. The alien screeched as blue blood poured out of her ears, eyes, and nose. Her eyes exploded in a splatter of blue blood. Thaea cringed as Natasha wiped some off of her face.
"That was really gross." She grimaced.
"We gotta get to Vision." Thaea stated, looking to Wanda. The witch nodded. The battle was drawing to a close, both the generals killed by their enemies. Thor destroyed a few of their drop-ships as they tried to escape. Thaea and Wanda ran over to the forest, the witch diving to her knees at the sight of the synthezoid.
"What is it?" She asked when he groaned in pain.
"He's here." He whispered. Thaea felt the ever-threatening presence soak into her bones. She shook as the feeling resonated down her spine. It was eerily quiet now.
"Everyone on my position." Cap said into comms. "We have incoming."
A portal opened, and he stepped onto the ground. He was as big as the hulk, his brutish skin purple. His face was set in an expression of determination. Thanos.
"Cap, that's him." Bruce called.
"Eyes up, stay sharp." Steve called, readying his shield and running toward the titan. He walked calmly through the forest, phasing the Hulk-buster through himself and into a wall of stone. He threw Steve aside with a blast of energy, and punched T'Challa to the ground, releasing all of the saved kinetic energy in his suit. Sam yelled, guns blazing as he dove in, but Thanos crumpled his wings using the gauntlet, Sam's body rolling to the ground. Thaea saw Wanda start to destroy the stone, so she took her opportunity. She took a running jump, latching onto Thanos' shoulders like she had done before. He grunted in surprise and made to throw her off, but he was shocked again as she slashed into his mind. She saw flickers of his past, his memory. Growing up on a moon plagued by poverty, never eating enough, seeing his neighbours, friends and family die of starvation every day. Thaea would never say she agreed with him, but she understood now where it came from. She forced him to relive that agony, the suffering which he had already experienced. She tore through his emotion, his memory, looking to cause as much damage as she could.
War Machine and Bucky both shot round after round at Thanos as Thaea ripped into his conscious. He never faltered, his skin almost bulletproof, but he began to scream. Bucky could only see the outside, the physical, but what he saw was amazing enough. Thaea perched on his shoulders, eyes searing bright, her hands glowing and surrounded by the white mist of power she created. He knew that she could beat him. She might have been the only one. Thanos closed his fist ever so slightly, causing Thaea to drop her hold on him. He grabbed her arm and threw her off his shoulder. She yelped in pain as she crashed into a tree, being thoroughly impaled by a particularly sharp branch. Thaea didn't dare move as she looked down at the wood protruding from her abdomen.
"A noble effort, child. Much like Ronan, you would have been a powerful Kree ally." The titan mused calmly. Thaea frowned at the word. Kree? Is that what she was? Who's Ronan? She was pinned to watch as Thanos tossed Rhodey and Bucky aside like tin cans.
Steve threw himself toward the titan, managing to land a few more good blows before he was punched and knocked out onto the forest floor. Thaea whimpered in pain as she craned her neck to see. She reached out with more of her power, still in a good enough radius, but Thanos crushed her leg beneath a rock, causing her to cry out again. She could no longer focus on anything, instead being forced to watch as Wanda destroyed the stone, in turn killing the man she loved so much. She was forced to the ground, sobbing with the weight of her actions.
"I understand, my child." The titan said softly. "Better than anyone."
"You could never." Wanda spat. Thaea reached out to Bucky, but he was groaning on the ground, recovering from the hard hit.
"Today, I lost more than you could know." He replied. "But now is no time to mourn. Now, is no time at all." Thanos grumbled like it was a mild inconvenience. He used the time stone to reverse what Wanda had done, and she cried out in pain as Thanos instead ripped the stone from Vision, leaving his lifeless body crumpled onto the ground. He placed the jewel in his gauntlet, revelling in the euphoric feeling it gave him. He stood for a moment, taking it in before being struck with a bolt of lightning.
Thor came down on him hard, using his axe and despite Thanos' efforts against it, drove it hard into the titan's chest. Thaea watched Bucky get up, groaning, coming toward her quietly. He asked if she was okay, and she waved him toward the titan. It didn't matter if she was okay. Thanos couldn't win.
"I told you." Thor spat. "You'd die for that." He pushed the axe further into Thanos' chest, the titan screaming in pain. His breathing became laboured, struggling to spit out his final words.
"You should have gone for the head." Thanos whispered, raising his gauntlet hand into the air.
Then, he snapped his fingers. A wave of searing light passed over them, over the entire universe, and slowly faded. When Thaea opened her eyes, it was like waking up from a bad dream, into a nightmare. Thanos knelt on the ground, his entire hand sizzling.
"What did you do?" Thor asked. "What did you do?" Then, the titan disappeared, falling into another portal to any point in time and space.
"Where did he go?" Steve asked, clutching his side and panting. "Thor? Where'd he go?"
"Steve!" Thaea cried out. Bucky pushed himself to his feet. Thaea lurched forward, still impaled by the tree branch. "Barnes... Barnes. Bucky!" Bucky stumbled forward, reaching for her, and he would have fallen into Thaea's arms, but he disappeared in a cloud of grey dust. Thaea's eyes were wide, and she was horrified. "Wha-what-" She sputtered, unable to utter her words of horror and surprise.
"Buck..." Steve mumbled, running toward where Bucky disappeared into ashes. He touched the ground, feeling them in between his fingers. What happened? Steve knelt down to check on Thaea's wounds, but she groaned as he tried to move her. He reached behind, using one of her knives to sever the tree branch from its trunk, then pushing the large boulder off of her leg. He lifted the girl, careful to keep away from the open wound.
All around them, Wakandan soldiers, their friends, their teammates, began to disintegrate. Their ashes blew around in the wind, to the horror of their companions. They lost about half of the entire army, in the span of a few seconds. They were gone.
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