The Captain

48. July 4, 2020 (Natasha)

     "Incoming call from an unknown number, sir," Friday chirps.

     I roll over and bury myself under the covers, hiding from the sunlight streaming into the room.

     "Tony Stark, Iron Man, Avenger," Tony says, answering whatever phone call he just got.

     He's silent for a few minutes.

     Wondering what on earth is going on and why he's so quiet, I sit up and look at him. His eyes are dark, his face is pale, and his jaw is tense.

     I send a text to Steve.

MommaSpider: My apartment, ASAP. Tony's on the phone. Doesn't look good. Bring the others.

     "I understand," Tony says, finally breaking his silence. "No, of course. You've done all that you can. Thank you for that. We'll see you shortly, then, won't we?"

     He pauses to listen.

     "We'll be at the rendezvous point," he says, and then he hangs up and pockets his phone.

     "What's wrong?" I ask softly.

     "I'll explain on the quinjet," he tells me. "We need to leave as soon as we can; need to go to New York. Suit up, Tasha."

     "Why?" I ask.

     I hear the apartment door open and Steve comes into view a moment later. Wanda, Pietro, and the others are with him.

     "What is it?" Steve asks when he sees the grim look on Tony's face. "What's wrong?"

     "This is gonna be one hell of a birthday party for ya, Cap," Tony tells him. "We need to go to New York. A storm is coming, and his name is Thanos."

     One flight later, we find ourselves standing in front of the Empire State Building.

     On the way here, Tony explained the situation to us. Some homicidal maniac, who is far from human, wants six overpowered gems from the dawn of the universe, so he has ultimate control over everything in it. He's currently being pursued by a group that calls themselves "the guardians of the galaxy."

     Apparently they've seen and handled one of these fancy rocks, and it's nothing to joke about. Entire planets can be destroyed with just a single wave of the hand. Millions can be killed with just a look.

     So, here we are.

     We're waiting for the Guardians to arrive, and for this sorry excuse of a monster to enter our atmosphere.

     "What a party, huh?" Tony smirks, trying to shake the anxiety running through our group.

     "It's not one I want," Steve sighs.

     "I don't think any of us want this," Sam points out.

     "Not exactly," T'Challa says.

     "Orders, Cap?" Tony asks.

    "Get in your positions," Steve tells us.

     After a good ten minutes, I make it to my position. Fortunately for us, NYC and the surrounding area has been evacuated, so I didn't have too long of an elevator ride.