Bird Set Free | Natasha Romanoff ✓

Chapter Forty-Three

As the Quinjet passed through the camouflage force field that surrounded Wakanda, a smile crossed Aquila's lips. She had of course been to Wakanda many times in her youth but a conversation that she had had with her fellow Avengers, during Ultron's terror about where vibranium came from, and how she was the only one that could pronounce the country's name was the memory that she was currently thinking about. 

"What are you smiling about?" Natasha asked, smoothly moving to stand next to her woman. 

"Just thinking about how once all of this over, things might return to normal," Aquila replied, leaning slightly into Natasha's side, a movement that had become second nature. 

"We are both Avengers, remember? Things are never going to be normal." 

"Yeah, true." Aquila laughed. 

"But at the same time I, Natasha Romanoff would love to attempt a normal life with you, Aquila Cadman." 

"God, I love you." 

"Well, in that case, I'm glad the feeling is mutual," Natasha replied smirking at Aquila as the Quinjet touched down in Wakanda. 

Steve, Natasha, and Aquila disembarked the Quinjet first, followed by Keira, Bea, Rhodey, Bruce and Quinn with Wanda supporting Vision behind them. 

"Should we bow?" Bruce asked Rhodey concerned. Aquila attempted to conceal her smirk knowing the answer immediately but she let Rhodey answer the question regardless. 

"Yeah, he's a king."

"Seems like I'm always thanking you for something," Steve said, stepping forward to shake hands with King T'Challa while Aquila watched Bruce bow awkwardly in the background. 

"Honestly, Bruce. What on earth are you doing?" Aquila teased. 

"Uh, we don't do that here," T'Challa said while Bruce shot both Rhodey and Aquila a betrayed look. "So how big of an assault can we expect?"

"Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault."

"How we looking?" Natasha asked. 

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and. . ."

"A semi-stable, 100-year-old man." Bucky Barnes said as he walked up to join the group. 

"How you been, Buck?" Steve asked, sharing a hug with his best friend. 

"Uh, no bad, for the end of the world."

Aquila watched as Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister scanned over Vision's body, before projecting a hologram of the stone in her palm. 

"Whoa. The structure is polymorphic."

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially," Bruce replied. 

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" Shuri asked. 

"Yeah, Bruce." Keira chimed in. "Why didn't you do that?"

"Because we didn't think of it."

"I'm sure you did your best."

"Can you do it?" Wanda asked. 

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." Shuri said before turning to her brother. "It will take time, brother." 

"How long do you think?" Quinn asked. 

"As long as you can give me," Shuri replied. 

"Something's entered the atmosphere."

"Hey, Cap, we got a situation here." Sam's voice came over the comms. 

Everyone in the room rushed to the window as everyone watched in shock as huge shock waves and debris from three ships landing, ricocheted off the dome. 

"It's too late." Vision said as he struggled to pick himself off the examination table. "We need to destroy the stone now."

"Vision, get your ass back on the table."

"We will hold them off," T'Challa said as he started for the door. 

"Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head. . . you blow it to hell." Steve said to Wanda.

"I will," Wanda replied, sharing a look with Steve.

"Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures. And get this man a shield." 

Aquila walked beside Natasha and Steve as they prepared to board the carriers to carry them out to the edge of the dome. 

Keira and Bea's argument could clearly be heard from where they stood. 

"No Bea. You can't come, just stay and help with Wanda, alright." 

"Come on, Keira. I can do this. Between you and Tony I know enough to keep me alive." 

"Bea. . ."

"Please, Keira." 

"Okay. . . just don't die alright." 

"I got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line," Rhodey warned them from overhead, Sam also flying not too far behind. 

"Understood," Aquila said into her comms in reply as she walked to the edge of the dome with T'Challa, Steve and Natasha. "Hey, where's your other friend?"

"You will pay for his life with yours. Thanos will have that stone." 

"That's not gonna happen," Steve replied. 

"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."

"We. . .have blood to spare."

"Did they surrender?" Bucky asked as they returned the larger group. 

"Not exactly," Steve replied as thousands of alien creatures bounded towards the barrier.

"What the hell."

"My thought exactly. I think we may have pissed her off. " Aquila said before she took to the skies to patrol with Rhodey and Sam.

Aquila watched in horror as the alien creatures threw themselves at the barrier, killing themselves in the process as limbs and half bodies fell on their side of the barrier. 

But she was launched into action as a few aliens did, in fact, make their way through the barrier intact.

"You see the teeth on those things?" Sam asked as he sent Redwings towards the aliens, following it up with bullets. 

"Alright, back up, Sam, Aquila. You're both gonna get your wings singed." Aquila looked up to see Rhodes dropping mines down below on the aliens. 

"Ah, noted." 

"Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us. . . there's nothing between them and Vision." Bruce said over the comms, pointing towards where a group of the alien dog things was trying to find another entrance. Aquila swooped back down, transforming before she came to stand next to Natasha again.

"Then we better keep 'em in front of us." 

"How do we do that?" Okoye asked, turning to T'Challa. 

"We open the barrier. On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."

"This will be the end of Wakanda."

"Then it will be the noblest ending in history."