W A K A N D A, E A S T  A F R I C A

October 17th, 2023

My eyes open due to a flare of sunlight that hits me directly on the lids. Once I adjust to the light, I reckon I'm in the place I've called home for the past two years. I'm back in the Wakandan forest where I remember I turned to dust. Next to me, Bucky incorporates himself while holding his head with his natural hand. The moment we lock eyes, we're pulling each other into an embrace. I don't know what went on, but the last time I saw him, he was turning to dust.

"What the hell happened?" I whisper, not really expecting an answer, but rather to myself. That's why I'm surprised when I get a reply.

"Thanos snapped and half of the population on earth turned into dust." A short, Asian guy says and Bucky and I let go of each other. He's wearing robes and around his wrists, he has two circles made of light orbiting. One of the circles magically disappears when he sticks out his hand to help me get up. "You did not survive, it's been 5 years and there's another fight." I blink at what he's saying. Is he for real? "C'mon! We gotta go!"

I turn to Bucky, who's already gazing at me, and I give him the saddest look. "Another fight?" I really hate this...

"Anna..." He intertwines his fingers with mine. "Together."

I sight before crashing my lips onto his. The only way I can do this is by his side. "Together."

T'Challa approaches us with a new couple of guns for us. A moment later, the Asian man from before starts moving his arms in circles, opening a giant portal to a destroyed landscape.

There's two armies facing each other. One is lead by the mad titan, Thanos, and its size it's impressive, not gonna lie. Still, we're the other army. And we're more than enough to defeat them.

In first line, Cap is holding his shield on one hand and Thor's magic hammer on the other.

"Avengers...!" He yells and we get into position. I'm waiting for him to say something else, to indicate when we should start our attack.

But if he does I don't hear it.

Everyone suddenly starts running against the enemy army. I load my gun as my legs move, dodging and jumping the debris on the ground. I spot on the distance a giant encircled A and I realize we're in the Avengers compound. Or at least where it used to be.

"Don't let him get the gauntlet!" I hear Dr. Banner, now in his Hulk form, warn us. It baffles me for a second. I've heard that voice very recently, but know I can't stop to think about it. I do, however, get a glimpse of his arm, which is now severely burnt.

A couple of goblins looking aliens charge in my direction while squealing and I start shooting at them. It only takes a few bullets to kill them, but more soldiers come after them. And more after them. Watching them die because of me only makes me want this to be over soon. I catch a glance of Bucky from the corner of my eye. He's also shooting at them next to me. Having him beside me makes it easier for me, if this can be made easy.

Out of the blue, I see T'Challa run by us with the gauntlet and the stones. Maybe a mile apart, the mad titan notices him and starts to run in his direction. Someone should do something about it.

"I'm gonna kill him." I hear Wanda mutter under her breath and I can feel the hurt and anger in her voice. Thanos killed Vision in front of her, taking everything from her. I decide right there to try as hard as I can to help her get her revenge. If someone has to stop Thanos, it has to be her.

Between us and the titan, there's only a wall of those aggressive space dogs and once I look down at my hands, I come up with an idea to make Wanda's vengeance easier.

"Cover your ears!" I tell Bucky and the witch, who are the closest to me. This is gonna be loud.

"What?! Why?!"

"Just do it!" I repeat as I take a few steps backward, on the opposite way to the alien creatures. Once I gain the momentum I wanted, I run straight in their direction and impulse myself to jump as high as I can and, before going back down, I hit my forearms together.

A huge sound wave knocks out all of the creatures around me. After landing on my knee, I stand up to look back at my allies, who are staring at me with their mouths open.

"Holy shit!" Bucky exclaims.

"I know, right?"

Cap's voice resounds in my earpiece and I assume even he has seen it, wherever he is. "Nice job, Anna!"

Wanda approaches me, her eyes fixed on the purple villain behind me.

"Thank you." She says gratefully. I can better see the sorrow in her gaze when she talks to me up close.

I nod at her. "Go get that bastard." And then, without hesitation, she does.

A few seconds later, I'm surrounded by more of the angry creatures I defeated before. They're not happy about what I did to their mates, I can tell that from the way they get closer to me.

At this point, I have very limited options. Bucky and I have somehow split and he's too busy right now trying not to get himself killed. I've never tried it twice in so little time, but I'm willing to clash my arms together again to get myself out of this mess. The strange dogs are almost upon me when I raise my right arm, disregarding how much it hurts. Nevertheless, I never get to put it down because I am swiftly lifted up from the ground before the creatures can jump for me.

I look up to see what's dragging me, expecting to find Sam or maybe even Rhodes. But surprise takes over me when I spot the web from which I'm swinging. Soon enough, Spider-Man lifts me up even higher and catches me midair with his free arm.

"Hey, ma'am!" He says, maybe a little too enthusiastic about the situation.

"Oh, hi kid. How's your head?" I say between pants and deep breaths as we keep swaying over the battleground. I'm surprised again when he remembers our encounter at the airport all those years ago.

"It's been better."

He finally lands, leaving me close to Buck again. I really wish I could talk to him for a while and thank him. Not only for saving me now, but for taking care of Jessica all this time too. It's a shame that just then T'Challa passes by us again, only this time, someone shoots again and the gauntlet escapes his grip.

I quickly turn to the teenager next to me. "You're fast! Get the gauntlet!" He nods before putting on his mask again and then he goes after the stones. Only a few seconds later, Thanos' ships above us begin blasting the ground, not minding if they hit their own soldiers.

I cover my head with my arms to protect it but I'm suddenly pushed to the side, making me fall to the ground. I already know Bucky is the one that did it and when a blast strikes right where I used to stand, I understand why.

I want to move and run somewhere safe, but Buck won't let me. He's covering my body with his as the ships keep on shooting at us. I swear I'm going to kill him if he gets hit.

I'm keeping my eyes shut and that's why I don't see how the ships redirect their aim to the sky. "What are they firing at?" Someone asks through the com.

In a flash, Thanos' main ship is destroyed, split in half, and the reason being is no other than just one single woman. She flies through the other crafts and wrecks them, leaving the villain's army no longer with the upper hand. As she lands, Bucky and I stand up. She's not too far away from us and I can hear Spider-Man ask her after he hands her the gauntlet.

"How are you gonna get through all that?" He points to the enemy fighting force. She doesn't answer. Instead, a shorter girl stands up next to him, with almost white hair and holding a gun too big for her size, and replies.

"Don't worry, she's got help." Jessica starts walking further into the battlefield and, behind her, all the ladies present follow her. I am not an exception. We charge with all we've got, united.

I am about to take out a new pocket blade and dig it into some alien soldier when a sound wave pushes me backwards. I'm not the only one to react like that, there's barely no one standing anymore due to the impact of the explosion that just happened. I manage to find one person, though, and I'm horrified when I realize what they're doing.

Jessica's thrown her weapon, but now she's holding something even deadlier. Over her hand, the six stones everyone's been going crazy about float while Stark talks to her. He approaches her and I get a feeling that he's trying to negotiate with her, but he's failing. She's not willing to give him the stones, I can see it in her face.

"No..." My eyes widen after I understand what she wants to do. She wants to snap. Now I remember Dr. Banner's voice in my dream. He snapped us back to existence, but that almost killed him.

"Anna, no." Wong, the Asian dude from before, already knows what I'm thinking. I need to stop her, I'm not gonna let her sacrifice herself. He doesn't stop me when I start running, ignoring how much my muscles hurt. Instead, it is Bucky who shoves me to the ground in order to halt me from getting to them.

I start moving underneath him, trying to shake him off me but it is useless. His weight is too much for me to push away. I don't realize he's actually trying to protect me until I see one of those giant dogs running straight into our direction. Now, I hide my face in Bucky's chest as I wait for the creature to jump on us but that never comes to happen. Instead, a flash of light and a loud explosion sound resounds all around. The moment we look up again, we find ourselves covered in dust.

Buck helps me up and I don't let go of his hand. I notice everyone is looking in the same direction. To the origin of the explosion that just happened.

There, Stark is laying on the ground, barely conscious, and Jessica stands a few feet away, sobbing on Spider-Man's shoulder. I can only imagine what he's done. He has snapped. He has given his life to save the rest of us. He has convinced Jessica to give him the stones.

I think this is the first time I've felt something like this. With the lost of Stark, I've lost a chance to apologize for everything that went down in Berlin. I've lost a chance to thank him for saving my daughter.

I look around to find the rest of the Avengers kneeling down, tributing the fallen hero. Without hesitation, I do the same, thinking it is the least I can do, and I show my newly found respects towards Stark.