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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒

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Charlie had been standing by the window with Pietro by her side since everyone left to confront the aliens. Chills ran throughout her entire body as she watched their attackers slam against the Wakandan barrier while their leaders simply watched. It wasn't long after that when T'Challa's voice filled the air, demanding that a section of the barrier be open. Not even a second after that passed when the Wakandans along with the Avengers charged into battle.

The Barton girl was worried for her friends and wanted nothing more than to be down there with them. But at the same time, she knew that Shuri might need help and Wanda shouldn't be alone at a time like this. After all, Pietro was really the only one who could keep her calm other than Vision. So instead she watched the battle unfold from the safety of Shuri's lab, silently hoping that she would see everyone again alive and well.

"How much longer, Shuri?" T'Challa questioned, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the young genius.

"I've barely begun, brother," the Wakandan princess responded without taking her eyes off the hologram in front of her that showed the Mind Stone and what was connected to it.

"You might want to pick up the pace."

Charlie instantly saw concern mix with the concentration in Shuri's eyes as she continued to work. Even though the Udaku girl was doing everything in her power to save Vision, the Barton girl had a feeling it wasn't enough. A small sigh passed over her lips as she walked over to Shuri. "Do you need us to do anything?"

The young genius didn't answer right away as she continued to work on freeing Vision from the Stone. Just when Charlie thought she wasn't going to respond at all, Shuri finally began speaking. "You could go put on those suits we've been working on. I have a feeling we're going to need them."

Charlie couldn't help but exchange an uncertain look with Pietro before the two of them walked out of the room. As they walked through the hall, the Barton girl felt the speedster interlock his fingers with hers before giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Whether it was to calm her nerves or his, Charlie didn't know. All she knew was that she was determined to make sure he made it out of this battle alive. She wasn't prepared to lose him again. And she knew that he felt the exact same way with her.

It wasn't long before they finally reached the room that Shuri gave to them when they were working at her lab. The room wasn't very big and contained what they needed, which was only a bed and a closet with a connecting bathroom. They rarely came into the room unless they were late with Shuri. The only things they had in the closet were the suits they had been working on with the Wakandan princess. A small sigh passed over Charlie's lips as she ran her fingers along the sleeve. She never imagined wearing her new suit so soon and she was having mixed feelings about it. On one hand, she had never worn anything laced with vibranium before and she was excited to try it out. On the other hand, the Barton girl wasn't certain she was ready to face the aliens again. But she also knew she didn't have much of a choice.

What felt like an eternity passed before Charlie was finally snapped out of her daze by a hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at the person behind her, she found Pietro staring back at her with a small smile on his face.

"It's gonna be okay," the speedster said as he pulled Charlie closer to him before enveloping her in his arms, "we're gonna make it out of this. We just need to stick together."

"And then we can go back to Sweden?" the Barton girl asked after wrapping her arms around his waist.

A small smile appeared on the archer's lips when she heard Pietro laugh. They stayed in each other's arms for a moment longer before ending their moment and looking into each other's eyes. The couple let the comfortable silence surround them until the Maximoff boy broke it. "And then we can go back to Sweden."

The two of them shared a quick kiss before the Maximoff boy took his suit into the bathroom to change. After letting out a shaky breath, the Barton girl quickly changed into her suit. Even though they designed it for her, Charlie was surprised by how perfectly it fit on her body. It was the most comfortable thing she had ever worn. Only a few minutes after that passed when Pietro walked out of the bathroom, still wearing his small smile. The speedster didn't hesitate to lace his fingers with the archer's before the two of them walked out of the room and down the hall to rejoin Shuri, Wanda, and Vision. Little did they know they were being watched by someone at the other end of the hall.

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Since arriving on Earth, Primrose stayed beside Thor and Groot as they fought against the aliens invading Wakanda. She swung Hrotti with all her might, taking out the dog-like creatures around her. The Quill woman couldn't remember the last time she was this terrified of the world around her. She didn't know if it was because of her current situation, or because Peter wasn't by her side. She couldn't stop thinking about her brother and his safety. Primrose would do anything to be reunited with him, but she knew it would have to wait until after they dealt with Thanos. She just hoped both of them would make it to that moment.

The brunette woman was able to take down a few more of their attackers while trying to ignore the exhaustion flowing through her veins. What felt like an eternity passed when the space dogs stopped coming toward her, giving her a second to catch her breath. It didn't take long for her to notice someone standing next to her, studying her for a moment. After taking one last deep breath, Primrose looked over to find a bearded man with shields on each of his arms staring back at her. The man just watched her for another moment before his attention moved toward Thor. "New haircut?"

"Noticed you've copied my beard," the Asgardian responded with a large smile on his face as he gestured toward his chin. Behind them, Groot's arm grew much larger than normal before he took out three aliens approaching them. The smile on Thor's face did nothing but grow as he gestured toward Groot with Stormbreaker. "By the way, this is a friend of mine, Tree. And this is Primrose Jorviksdottir."

The Quill woman instantly froze before turning her attention toward the God of Thunder. "You knew?"

"Eitri wouldn't have given Hrotti to just anybody."

Before Primrose had a chance to respond, a loud crash came from behind them. The two of them instantly turned around to find Groot standing over three more defeated aliens. "I am Groot!"

The shielded man just stared at Groot for a moment before pointing at himself. "I am Steve Rogers."

"And I am tired of these space dogs," Primrose muttered under her breath as she sprinted away from them to find more aliens to attack.

The Quill woman soon found herself fighting alongside two women, one with short blonde hair and the other dressed in orange holding a spear. Primrose didn't know why she stopped to battle the aliens with them, but she didn't regret it. They were both strong fighters and that gave her a sense of comfort that she hadn't felt since she last saw Peter. But Primrose's relief soon faded when she heard a faint rumbling in the distance. Her blood instantly ran cold as she turned toward the source of the sound, only to find trees falling just outside the barrier. Primrose kept her eyes glued to the destruction until she saw the ground beginning to move under the barrier. It wasn't long after that when large saws emerged from the earth and began moving toward them.

Natasha and Okoye kept their focus on their attackers while Primrose continued to stare at the approaching threat. Her mind tried to think of ways to get them away from the danger in time, only to fail. Just as she was about to accept her fate, a girl dressed in red landed in front of her. The giant saws were soon glowing bright red, the same color as the newcomer's hands. She soon forced them into the air and away from her allies before looking over her shoulder at the space dogs approaching them. It wasn't long after that when Wanda threw the saws at their attackers, taking them all out at once.

A small smile appeared on Natasha's lips while Primrose gazed at Wanda in amazement. Okoye just stared at them for a moment before a slightly annoyed look formed on her face. "Why was she up there all this time?"

The Quill woman kept her eyes glued to Wanda for another moment then she turned to look at Natasha. "Are there any other surprises we should know about?"

The blonde woman couldn't help but smile at Primrose before opening her mouth to respond. "Not that I know of."

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Charlie didn't know exactly how to feel now that Wanda was down fighting their attackers. She knew that they needed the Maximoff girl down there to help defend Wakanda more than they needed her in Shuri's lab. But something felt off about the whole thing. The Barton girl quickly shook off her conflicting emotions as she continued to watch the battle unfold. All her thoughts were about her friends and allies and how much she wanted to see them again. She knew she wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to them while she was up in Shuri's lab.

A small sigh passed over Charlie's lips as she turned her back to the window and walked over to where Pietro was standing beside Vision. An uncomfortable look was plastered onto the Keeper of the Mind Stone's face as she stared up at the ceiling. The Barton girl's eyes scanned over the golden lines emitting from the machine above the synthezoid before they moved back to his face.

"How are you holding up?" Charlie asked, wanting to break the tense silence surrounding them even though she already knew the answer.

Vision finally broke his gaze away from the ceiling to look over at the couple next to him before forcing a smile onto his lips. "I've felt better."

"You've definitely looked better," Pietro responded, earning a not-so-gentle elbow in the side from the girl standing next to him.

However, before their conversation could continue, a loud crash came from above them. Their attention instantly turned to the platform above them to find one of the Dora Milaje fighting against Corvus Glaive. Pietro didn't hesitate to sprint up there to help Shuri and Ayo deal with the alien. While he did that, Charlie grabbed the bow off her back and loaded an arrow onto it. She placed herself between Vision and the window leading to the floor above them while mentally preparing herself for the upcoming fight. The Barton girl's entire body froze as she watched Pietro use all his force to punch Corvus Glaive in the face. His actions caused the alien to stumble back a bit, allowing Shuri to blast him with her gauntlets.

To the archer's dismay, her allies' attacks were futile. Corvus Glaive simply got to his feet before hitting them with his scepter, sending Pietro, Shuri, and Ayo through the window and onto the floor in front of Charlie. Not even a second after that passed when the giant alien landed next to them. The Barton girl instantly fired a round of arrows at Corvus Glaive, only for him to block every single shot with his scepter. It wasn't long before he managed to kick her in the chest, sending her crashing into the wall behind her and onto the floor. Lucky for her, her new suit managed to take most of the impact, leaving Charlie with nothing but a faint pain in her chest.

Pietro didn't hesitate to rush toward her and help her to her feet. The two of them looked back just in time to see Vision push Corvus Glaive out the window, causing them both to fall into the forest just outside Shuri's workshop. The two of them just stared at the broken window for a moment before the Maximoff boy brought his hand up to the communicator in his ear. "We have a Vision problem. We need some backup."

Charlie missed the rest of the conversation happening over the comms after Shuri called out to her. They kept their eyes locked for a moment, both knowing what the other was thinking but neither wanting to say it. That was until the Princess of Wakanda broke the silence surrounding them. "It's time for the Sparrow to fly."

The Barton girl hesitated for a moment before looking up at Pietro, who was already staring back at her with confusion in his eyes. "What is she talking about?"

Charlie simply smiled at him and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before whispering into his ear. "I'm sorry about this."

Before the speedster had a chance to respond, the archer pressed the hidden button on her wrist, something that only she and Shuri knew about. A jetpack instantly formed from her suit and activated soon after that, causing her feet to leave the ground. Charlie took one last look at Pietro before flying out the broken window, ignoring the speedster shouting her name. A shaky breath passed over her lips as brought her hand up to her comms. "I'm going after Vision."

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"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve shouted over the comms right as Primrose took out another space dog.

It didn't take an empath like Mantis to feel the fear radiating off Wanda as she listened to the update on Vision. The Quill woman had no idea who this person was, but she could tell he meant a lot to the Maximoff girl. It wasn't long before the telekinetic finally responded to the Rogers man. "On my way."

However, before Wanda could even take a step in the right direction, a giant alien came out of nowhere and slammed her fist into the side of the Maximoff girl's head. Primrose let out a silent gasp as she watched Wanda tumble into the trench in front of her before Proxima Midnight jumped down into the ditch to join her. The daughter of Thanos just stood over Wanda with a large smile on her face, like a predator with its prey. It wasn't long after that when Natasha and Okoye appeared on either side of the Quill woman before they heard Proxima Midnight speak. "He'll die alone. As will you."

"She's not alone," Natasha announced, causing the alien to turn around to find herself surrounded by the three women who were watching the scene unfold.

Proxima Midnight shouted as she moved to strike the Romanoff woman, who easily blocked her attack with her staff. Okoye and Primrose soon moved in to help the blonde woman battle the daughter of Thanos. The Quill woman's sword met the alien's before the two of them pushed against each other, either willing to let the other win. While Primrose was distracting Proxima Midnight, Okoye swung her staff at the alien, landing a strike in her side and causing the daughter of Thanos to stumble. It didn't take long for Proxima Midnight to regain her bearings before she took turns striking the women's weapons. But just as the heroes got the upper hand, one of the giant saws flew above them, causing everyone to duck to avoid getting hit. That was enough of a distraction for the daughter of Thanos to kick Natasha in the stomach, sending her to the ground. It wasn't long after that when the alien turned her attention to Primrose and Okoye and granted them the same fate.

When Proxima Midnight's back was turned, Natasha got to her feet and twisted her staff before snapping it in two batons. She then sprinted toward the alien and used her batons to force the sword out of her grasp, leaving the daughter of Thanos with nothing but her fists to fight with. However, that was enough for Proxima Midnight, who easily landed two punches and sent Natasha to the ground.

A wave of fear washed over Primrose after she got back on her feet to see Natasha on the ground with Proxima Midnight standing over her. The Romanoff woman was using her batons to keep the alien's dagger away from her neck, but it was obvious that the daughter of Thanos was stronger. Just as the Quill woman took a step forward to help Natasha, Proxima Midnight's body began to glow bright red. Shock replaced the terror within Primrose as she watched the alien rise into the air with no sign of stopping any time soon. It wasn't long after that when one of the giant saws flew above them, taking out their enemy for them.

When Primrose looked behind her, she found Wanda sitting a few feet away with exhaustion in her eyes. In front of her, Natasha forced herself into a sitting position, revealing drops of blue on her face. "That was really gross."

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