∆ {5⁸} {WAKANDA} ∆

ROXI HAD NEVER been to Wakanda. Of course, she knew of it. As Tony had explained when Ultron was still an issue, it was where Vibranium came from, and after the events in Germany, both in Berlin and at the airport, she knew who was in charge, too. T'Challa, who had become king after the bomb had gone off outside the conference building in Berlin, when his father had died.

She had been expecting it to be a well-off country, with regard to their supply of Vibranium, and yet the cityscape still stole her breath away as the Quinjet soared over buildings. She'd never been one for skyscrapers, for high-tech builds, and yet the city was beautiful. The place sent a feeling of power that she'd never come close to before thrumming through her veins.

Whenever she'd been around Vibranium (Steve's shield, Ultron, Vision) she found an odd energy dancing at her fingertips. But now, it coursed through her entire body. She'd have to be careful not to become drunk on that feeling of power. She was strong here, perhaps exceptionally so, and that struck a chord of hope within her, and she finally found the courage to turn to Natasha and ask her what had truly been happening a few hours earlier while she'd been zoned out.

"Nat, why exactly was Bruce talking about taking the Stone out of Vision?" She kept her voice low, not wanting to bring up the idea again with everybody already so on edge, and when Natasha turned to face her, she let out a soft sigh, slight concern coating her features. She'd known that Roxi had been out of it, but not that much.

"Thanos is coming here for the Stones. Vision.. Vision wanted Wanda to destroy it, but we're here so they can try and remove it before she does, so that Vision doesn't go with it." For a few seconds, Roxi felt every inch of her freeze up as alarm raced through her veins and overtook that luxuriously powerful feeling. In that moment, all she could think was

"Shit." The word escaped her in a rush of breath that nobody else heard, and Natasha's concerned look suddenly grew far more potent. Roxi's mind strayed to Tony, thousands of miles away in space. If what they thought was true, then that action could have consequences that she didn't know how to warn anyone of.

But as soon as Roxi saw the look on Natasha's face, she forced herself to relax, simply settling for a smile that held the least amount of fear that she could manage. Natasha didn't seem to buy it, and opened her mouth, a confused and slightly hurt expression crossing her face, as if to speak, but then they landed, and Roxi's attention transferred immediately to the ramp and what was outside, waiting for them. It was unintentional, but Natasha still found herself frowning at Roxi's back as she began to walk out and swiftly followed the woman, with full intent to continue her conversation, but the sight she was met with distracted her.

There stood T'Challa, next to whom Natasha presumed the head of his personal guard, the Dora Milaje, who also surrounded him, each holding a wicked-looking spear. Roxi had slowed her steps and Natasha fell into place beside her, glancing at the woman she loved, wondering whether to chase the tail of their last conversation, but deciding not to upon seeing the look of admiration and slight wonder on her face.

The Dora Milaje were certainly an impressive looking guard, Roxi decided, and their spears reminded her of her quarterstaff. She had neither version now. The first she'd lost years ago during the fall of SHIELD and the other had been taken after the incident at the airport. But now that she was on the ground, that wave of dread she'd felt had been taken over by that overwhelming potential for power. She would be able to do far more here than any other places she'd fought, even when her enemies had been made of metal in Sokovia. If they hadn't changed, the enemy forces would still be armoured in metal, too, and so for a while at least, Roxi let herself believe that they might be enough to stop this.

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something." Steve was the first to speak, a step ahead of Roxi and Natasha, who stood behind him quietly. Roxi was still distracted by that feeling of hope, and Natasha was evaluating the situation, as she'd been taught to.

"How big of an assault should we expect?" T'Challa emanated pure power here; this was his domain, and Roxi found herself hoping that she would deserve the level of respect that he was given.

"Uh, sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault," Bruce rushed to inform the King, leaning over Steve's shoulder to be able to get a word in. With that reminder, Roxi shut down her hopeful feeling before it could become too strong and she began to overlook simple things, before she became over-confident. That was then mistakes would happen, and she was taking no risks.

"How we looking?" Natasha was still cool, calm, collected, as she always was, and Roxi knew that she was now entirely focused on the task at hand, something that Roxi was working on, and almost there. She just needed to know a few more things first, and those would be revealed throughout the course of the conversation even if she said very little, so that was what she was planning to do.

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and.." T'Challa gestured a hand, and there was Bucky Barnes. Roxi had never really met him, except when he'd been trying to kill her, Steve and Natasha. She knew that after Civil War Steve had had Wakanda help him, and that that was why he was here, but it didn't ease the suspicion that she found filled her around him.

"And a semi-stable hundred-year-old man."

"How you been Buck?"

"Not bad, for the end of the world."

~

ROXI DIDN'T UNDERSTAND most of what Shuri - T'Challa's younger sister - and Bruce were saying. She'd never been a science person, and had figured that they had enough people on their team who knew a good deal about it. She was standing next to Wanda, arms folded over her chest as she watched Shuri create a scan of the mind stone. Her eyes lingered on it for a few seconds, watching as the energy source glowed orange. She didn't like being so close to it, but Wanda needed her here.

"Can you do it?" The Maximoff asked, her shoulder brushing Roxi's - something that was just enough to provide some comfort for the both of them, but also not too distracting.

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time, brother," Shuri replied, and Roxi glanced from her to the stone, to Wanda, to Natasha and then back to Shuri.

"How long?"

"As long as you can give me."

"I could help," she proffered, and everyone around the table looked to her, taking a moment to process what she meant, "I'll be able to feel if something's wrong, or I could help make the parts you need to cut through easier to access." There was another moment of silence as Bruce tilted his head in consideration, and Shuri nodded thankfully.

"We might need you on the battlefield at any time though, Ryder, stay sharp," Steve added and Roxi murmured her agreement, noting quietly the way that Steve had chose not to use her first name in front of strangers, something that she was grateful for, but that she would have to tell him later. Now was not exactly the time.

Then Roxi felt that odd tinge seeping into that potential - a different kind, a colder kind. She recognised it, vaguely. And then came more, a taint that poisoned that possible power and Roxi found herself saying without really meaning to

"They're here." And then an alarm blared, and the head of the Dora Milaje - who Roxi had heard being referred to as Okoye - produced a hologram.

"Something's entered the atmosphere." Roxi and Natasha shared a glance. Her reach had never extended that far before, but as the something grew lower in the atmosphere, Roxi could feel just how much of it there was, and the cold grew so prominent that her skin raised into goose bumps. It was heavy, and had a nasty feel to it, not like the raw, yet somehow simultaneously refined feel of the Vibranium that coursed underneath the chill.

"Hey Cap, we got a situation here." Sam was the next to say something, and Roxi felt the first ship - she assumed- smash against Wakanda's shield, but lost it once it was shredded into debris that slid off the edge of the shield dome and onto the grass below.

"God, I love this place." But the chill suddenly became slightly overwhelming, and Roxi let a shiver shake her frame. Wanda turned to her in confusion, but Roxi disregarded it, nodding towards the scene taking place outside of one of the large windows.

"Don't start celebrating yet, guys, we got more incoming outside of the dome." Roxi took a few steps back to stand next to Natasha, and they exchanged a look that meant more than the words they could muster in that moment did.

"It's too late," Vision tried, clearly desperate for his original intended outcome, afraid of what would happen if they failed; just as Roxi was, just as they all were, "We need to destroy the stone now."

"Vision, get your ass back on the table." Natasha's response was partly founded in concern for the synthezoid, and partly in the remembrance of what she'd told Roxi. That they would be enough because they had to be. If somebody planted doubts in Roxi's head, there was no way the woman would fight as well as she could, though Natasha never planned to tell her she thought that.

"We will hold them off," T'Challa offered, nodding at Roxi as he passed her. An acknowledgement, nothing more.

"Wanda, as soon as that stone's out of his head, you blow it to hell." Steve commanded, seemingly forgetting his old dislike of bad language, though Roxi supposed that came with being a fugitive.

"I will."

"Evacuate the city, engage all defences. And get this man a shield."

Natasha and Roxi turned to face each other, and hugged briefly but firmly. Natasha's rose and vanilla filled Roxi's head as she heard a whispered

"Seeya in a minute."

"Don't be late."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Okay this one's even shorter and the next one will probably be pretty short too, and possibly even the one after that. I just wanna be done with Infinity War if I'm being honest. I've only got two more to go though, and I've written two today. I'll try and write at least one tomorrow but we'll see how that goes. But yeah, please vote, comment, let me know what you think, etc.,

JABBERJAY_011

WORDS [1880]

WRITTEN [30.12.2021]

PUBLISHED [05.01.2022]