The Captain's Husband

47. Science the Shit Out of This (Natasha)

"Son of a bitch!" Ana says under her breath as she drops to the ground, gasping for air, green orbs of light in her hands slowly fading as she regains control of her breathing.

Steve and Bucky shuffle over, holding each other up as they walk, and Tony follows.

We've just defeated the monsters in Thanos' "care package," and just seconds before they were unleashed, we discovered Thanos' message to us.

He'll be coming in five years to settle the score against us, and he's bringing reinforcements.

"Anyone have any idea how we can defeat Thanos now?" Peter asks as he and Wade join the rest of us.

Everyone on the team is in shambles, wounded, and gasping for breath. I don't think we've had time to consider our options, let alone make some up.

"Give me a moment and I'll have something for you," Strange says to us.

Tony, Wanda, Lorna, Vision, Ana, Adam, Steve, and Bucky join me under one of the garden's only surviving trees. Rhodey and Sam join us a moment later.

"That was a hell of a fight," Bucky says as he and Steve flop onto the charred grass and look up at the blackened sky. "Definitely did not see that one coming."

"Quill and his ragtag band of guardians were supposed to be the intercept team for shit like this," Rhodey points out.

"We lost contact with them 24 hours ago," Tony says. "As far as I know, they're MIA."

"You didn't think it was important to tell us?" Steve asks.

"It's not the first time they've gone silent," Tony explains. "They've done it before."

"I don't think that makes a damn bit of difference, Tony," Steve snarks.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" Ana snaps at them. "We have five years to get ready for Thanos' return, okay? Five years!" She pushes herself to her feet and walks off toward where our cars were parked. "I'll be busy training while the rest of you keep bickering about bullshit! Jesus Christ, you can't make this shit up!"

Ana, honey.

Steve and Tony watch Ana walk away in a rage while Bucky, Peter, Wanda, and I run after her.

"Ana, wait!" Bucky calls after her.

She throws a green ball of electricity at him, which he just barely dodges.

Oh, dear God, don't piss him off.

"Ana Natalia!" He barks at her.

"What?" She hisses as she whirls around to face him.

I put my hand on Bucky's arm, saying carefully, "Easy, Winter."

He shakes me off.

"I know what I'm doing," he says lowly.

Peter and Wanda huddle up behind me, not wanting to get in Ana's sights.

"I know that this is a lot, and I know you're upset that Thanos is coming back, especially after going through another fight in such a short amount of time," Bucky says gently, "But this isn't the way to handle it, baby bear. You have to let go of the anger and put it toward the fight. It'll consume you if you let it burn inside."

Ana's eyes flash electric green.

I look behind me, and find that out entire team is standing there, waiting for her to calm down and refocus.

"He's right," Adam says softly. "And you know I'll only tell you the truth, Ana, dear."

"You don't understand," she says, "You never will."

Honey, please.

"What don't we understand?" Steve asks, pushing his way through the pack to the front where Bucky is. "What are we missing?"

"He's not coming to kill us," she says softly. "He's coming to kill me."

"What? Why?" Tony asks.

"How do you know?" Bucky asks her.

"He sent the message to her," Strange explains as he walks up to join us. "In every single timeline I looked at, one thing was clear. He wants Ana as a trophy."

My little girl won't go to that monster.

"Why Ana?" Steve asks as Bucky takes his hand and pulls him to his side. "Why would he want our little girl?"

"She's the daughter of four of the strongest individuals in the Universe, and she has all of their abilities and potential," he says. "On her own, she's as powerful as an infinity stone."

"But she's not alone," Steve points out.

"And what is your reasoning?" Strange asks. "Is it because of us, or because of her siblings?"

Steve and Bucky look at each other in absolute shock. Meanwhile, the rest of us look at them like they're from space.

Siblings?

How could Ana have - oh my God, she has siblings!

The other three!

"We can't be serious," Bucky whispers in amazement. "We have to be crazy."

"We're serious," Steve smiles, taking Bucky's face in his hands. "And we've always been crazy, Buck. Always."

"Tony, Bruce, we have to get back to the tower!" Bucky calls to them. "We have to science the shit out of this!"

"Let's go!" Tony shouts as he runs past us and bounces toward the cars.