Even though Cassie had been on Earth-19999 for almost an entire year, she had never once been to Wakanda - meaning she didn't know exactly where she would land when she came through the portal. She landed on the grass with a thud, the wind picking up as she took in her new environment. A field surrounded her on all sides, cattle walking freely in the distance.
"Hey!" said a voice. Turning around, she was greeted at the sight of none other than Sebastian Stan - Bucky Barnes in this universe. "You're the girl that came with Stark to the Hydra Facility. I saw you at Cap's return party."
"Bucky!" she exclaimed, running over and giving him a hug. He stood stunned for a moment, padding her back awkwardly with the only arm he had. When she pulled away she extended a hand out to him. "Cassie Potts, nice to finally be properly introduced to you."
"Right...Can I ask what you're doing Wakanda?"
"Something is coming, well someone-"
"And we need the White Wolf to help defeat him," said T'Challa, approaching them from across the field with Okoye. "Hello Cassie, good to see you."
Cassie felt a smile cross her lips. "It's good to see you T'Challa. Did Steve and-"
"Everyone is already here thanks to you. Shuri has already begun work on the mind stone."
She felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders, a sigh escaping her lips. "Good, that's good."
"But we are still going to need all the help we can get." He walked forward, placing a box on a tree stump.
Bucky walked forward curiously with Cassie though she was already filled with excitement. T'Challa opened the box to reveal a new vibranium arm for Bucky, one that didn't have the Hydra star on it.
"Woah this is so much cooler in person," she said, nudging Bucky slightly. "This is my favorite model."
He ignored her comment as he peered down into the box before looking back up at T'Challa. "Where's the fight?" he asked.
T'Challa replied back to him. "On its way...." he turned to Cassie. "You have these portal powers Natasha speaks of?"
She nodded. "Tell me where to send us and I can."
"To the main tower would suffice. We'll regroup with everyone."
"You got it, boss." Cassie turned to the empty field turning her arm in a sweeping potion to open a portal. She thinks she had it under control, remembering the setting of the movie.
It wasn't long before a portal formed large enough for them all to step through. They entered the living space in the Wakandan main tower, a circle of sofas in the middle where the Avengers sat - Steve, Natasha, Wanda, Rhodey, Sam, and Bruce all waiting for the next step in their plan. They peered over at Cassie and everyone stepped through the portal.
Steve was the first to stand up. He walked over, giving Bucky a friendly hug before turning his attention to Cassie. "Where's Tony?" he asked.
"In space, he's won't be joining us," she responded.
"I don't-"
"Is everyone okay?"
"Some of Thanos' groupies attacked us at the compound, we got out just in time," Natasha said.
"The Black Order attacked the compound? Is anyone injured? Where's Vision."
Wanda responded, "We're safe now, Natasha injured one of them pretty badly. Vision's still with Shuri working on the stone."
"Good, okay so we're already ahead of the game a little bit that should help."
"Do we need to recruit more people?" Bruce asked. "Clint maybe? What about that Ant-man or something that Rhodey mentioned. And Spider-Boy!"
"Spider-Man," Cassie corrected him. "He's kind of in space with Tony right now..."
Rhodey stepped forward to speak. "Clint retired and I have no idea where Scott is."
"Not to worry, you will have the full cooperation of my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, and the Dora Milaje," said T'Challa. "We need to start preparing for our guests."
"Yeah that's a good idea," Cassie said. "I need more knives."
Steve put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need knives, kid," he said.
"Hmmm, I think I do."
"No, you don't you have your sorcery."
"Yes, but I could also use knives."
"Just let the kid have her knives, Steve," Nat butted in. "We're about to fight a bunch of aliens."
They looked back at Steve and he contemplated his decision. "Fine.. you can have your knives."
"Yes!" Cassie explained. "I hope you know that I was going to get knives whether you said yes or not." He rolled his eyes, walking off with Bucky as the team began to disperse and prepare. She looked around the room before spotting Wanda sneaking off. "Wanda!" she called out, catching up to her.
"I'm sorry but I'm going to stay with Vision," she told her. "If anything happened to him... I would never forgive myself."
Cassie felt her heartstrings pull. She hoped that with their little advantage with the mind stone that Thanos couldn't end up killing him and turn him into a weird grayed-out robot. "I wasn't going to suggest otherwise. As soon as the stone is gone you have to come down and help us."
"Got it." She began to walk away but Cassie put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait... if for some reason Thanos gets the stone, you are the only one that can destroy it."
"I don't know if I can-"
"I know. I know you can. Just please promise me that you will put an end to this? Don't tell Steve but you are like the most powerful Avenger out of all of us."
She watched as Wanda contemplated what to say. It was a hard choice, deciding to sacrifice the one you love for a greater good. Finally, she nodded. "I promise."
Cassie gave one nod back before stepping away to go find a set of knives. She yelled out to no one in particular something that she had always wanted to say since the day she became an Avenger. "SUIT UP!"
━─━─━━─━「₪」━━─━─━─━
"Uh Cap, we gotta situation down here!" Sam yelled through the comms.
All of them had gathered back together, riding together on the hover carriers to the edge of the border protecting Wakanda. From above, hellfire rained down. Explosions shook the earth as the ash scattered over the barrier. Bucky, Steve, and Cassie looked up to see debris.
"God, I love this place," said Bucky.
"You and me both," Cassie said.
She looked over to the other hover carrier to see Natasha. "How we looking, Bruce?"
"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it!" He yelled back. A thumping sound boomed from behind the carriers as Bruce in the Hulkbuster suit jumped over the carriers, running a few feet in front of them before face planting. "I'm okay! I'm okay!"
Finally, they reached the hill line that stood a couple of hundred yards away from the border. They made their way off the carriers, getting in ready formation. Cassie stood near Steve and T'Challa as someone approached them - it was M'Baku.
T'Challa extended a hand for him to shake, "Thank you for standing with us," he said.
"Of course, Brother," M'Baku said in Xhosa.
Drones of aliens tried to scratch through the borders, some even getting through. From above, Sam and Rhodey continued to soar over. "I got two heat signatures breaking through the tree lines." Rhodey flew towards the border where alien creatures, outriders, started to seep through the border walls, dropping mini bombs on them as they tried to run forward.
In the distance, behind the crowd of wicked creatures, Cassie could see Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight approach the border. She pointed them out. "There they are! Members of the Black Order."
"Let's go," Steve said, walking forward with T'Challa and Natasha before turning back to face her. "You too."
She pointed at herself. "Me?" He nodded, continuing to walk away without another word. Quickly, she caught up to them. Don't freak out, she thought to herself. You've come this far you just need to see this battle through.
Once they reached the border, Nat initiated the conversation. "Where's your other friend?" she asked.
"You will pay for his life with yours," Proxima said. Next to her Obsidian murmured something in an alien language. She turned to listen and then faced Cassie. "He says you will pay for sending him to the snow."
Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "And let him kill me? Not a chance."
"Thanos will have that stone."
"That's not gonna happen," said Steve.
"You are in Wakanda now," said T'Challa. "Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."
Proxima smirked. "We have blood to spare." She grunted, raining her hand in the air causing the fixtures they planted outside the border to rise.
Steve pulled her back without another word and they made their way back up to the rest of the fighters. "Did they surrender?" asked Bucky.
"Not exactly," said Steve.
"Way to sugar code it," Cassie said before peering in front of him to make eye contact with Bucky. "They want us all dead."
"Not if we can get that stone out of Vision's head," Natasha added.
T'Challa spoke into the comms. "What is the ETA on the stone, sister?"
"Almost done!" Shuri replied. "I just need a little more time."
"Uh, guys?" Sam called through the comms, still flying overhead. "You might wanna look at that."
They peered over to where Sam was flying. Out from the levitating fixtures, more outriders began to crawl their way out and through the tree line. Their snarls became louder as they approached the Black Order.
"Yibambe!" T'Challa began to chant in Xhosa.
"Yibambe," the Wakandans cried back.
"Holy shit," Cassie murmured under her breath but still someone heard her.
Bucky leaned back to see her and said. "What? What does that mean?"
"What?" she asked suddenly, pulling herself out of her self pep talk. "Oh, it just means 'hold fast' this is just like an iconic moment and I just realized I'm going to be a part of it."
"Stay focused, Cas," Steve reminded her.
"Right, yeah... fight some aliens, kill the purple guy let's do this."
In the distance, Proxima dropped her hand, giving the outriders the okay. They charge towards the border on all fours and high speeds. "What the hell?" Bucky said to himself.
"Looks like we pissed her off," commented Nat.
Cassie turned to look at her. "You think?"
She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Stay with me Cas, okay?" Cassie nodded as she turned her attention back to the outriders who were breaking through the barriers. Left and right they were being sliced in half purposely sending their bodies through the wall.
Okoye looked astonished at them. "They're killing themselves," she said.
The more outriders that tried to get through, the less chance they had at dying. They crept through the barrier, roaring as they reached inside Wakanda. The Border Tribe lifted their Basotho cloaks, bringing them forward as the shield activated. They drew back their spears and waited. As the outriders charged forward through the hills, T'Challa gave the okay. The Border Tribe began to fire at the outriders with their spears, Bucky using his gun next to her. Bruce attempted to use the blasters in his suit as Sam flew overhead again with his guns, firing at every outrider he could. He sent out three mini redwings to help.
"You see the teeth on those things?" Sam called out.
Rhodey flew by to help. "All right back up, Sam. You're gonna get your wings singed." He flew over the edge of the border, dropping more bombs down to blow up the creatures. It was no use though as outriders continued to pile through, some moving to surround the entire border.
"Cap," Bruce called out. "If these things circle the perimeter and get behind us there's nothing between them and Vision."
"Open one of the sectors," Cassie said.
"What?" Cap questioned her.
"If you open one of the sectors up, they will all concentrate on the area they can get into. We can pile them in and strike them down one by one."
"That is not a bad idea," T'Challa agreed. "On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."
"Requesting confirmation my king. You said open the barrier?" asked someone from the kingsguard.
"On my signal."
M'Baku sighed. "This will be the end of Wakanda."
"Then it will be the noblest ending in history," said Okoye.
T'Challa yelled another command, making the Border Tribe release their barriers and let him through. Cassie watched as he confidently walked forward towards danger. He and Chadwick Boseman were very similar in that way; she got teary-eyed as she continued to watch him.
He stopped a foot in front of everyone. Bringing his arms to his chest he yelled. "Wakanda Forever!"
And so the battle began.