While in the United States the Maximoffs were treated as secondary Avengers by the press and fans, in Sokovia they outshined them all. Once they had been spotted, it was a trial not being mobbed. Eventually, Harry had to resort to some impromptu wards to keep the crowds at bay. It was an adulation that the Maximoff's basked in. He'd rarely seen Wanda so happy, beaming even after they retired to their room. It wasn't something Harry could relate to, but he could understand how it must feel to return to their childhood home and be greeted with joy and celebration.
It didn't hurt that- with charitable investments from the Stark foundation and the establishment of a Wakandan educational institute, hopes in the city were rising. While the entire world had taken a blow with Demagorge's invasion, Sokovia had recovered quicker than most. The small country, once a perennial battleground for civil war and foreign power play, was now being touted as a success story. Wanda and Pietro were joined by Harry, Natasha, and Skye, and the visit was deemed a publicity op.
They had photo op with local leadership, a far less public meeting with said leaders that Natasha had taken the lead on, and an impromptu festival in Wanda and Pietro's honor. Harry had visited a hospital and spent a day playing healer. Wanda and Pietro had gone to an orphanage, and almost had to be physically dragged away at the end of the day. While all of that did take up much of their time, the reality was that they had… other motives for paying a visit to the small nation.
Because of its official neutrality in world affairs and its affiliation with the Avengers, Sokovia had become host to a cohort of former Widows. Some Widows wanted to stay in the game, and for them there was no shortage of career options- any who wished to could find employment at one intelligence agency or another. Not all followed that path, and while some still had some family they could track down and reconnect with, there were more where that wasn't an option. For those Widows, a small clique had formed in Sokovia, aggregating out of the force of its own gravity more than any plan. Indeed, they would discover that many of the ex-agents didn't have a plan at all. Their only unifying cause was a desire to be as far away from the bloody business that had consumed their lives up to this point.
There was one, final, reason why they had visited Sokovia. Shuri was there on a tour of Wakanda's international education institutes. While they could have gotten the best doctors in the world to look after Natasha, they wouldn't have trusted a single one of them more than Shuri, not with the most personal parts of their life. Shuri's access to Wakandan medical technology was just a bonus.
And, of course, that wasn't the only reason they wanted to see Shuri. She'd left the morning after they'd had sex, with no resolution to that monumental question. Harry still felt sick about it, the possibility that he'd forced a pregnancy on her. Natasha, Wanda, and Skye had all attempted to ease his mind- pointing out the Shuri had clearly been just as into it as he'd been and if she had gotten pregnant it would be a complete accident. Their words could only do so much. He needed to see Shuri, to talk to her, but she'd gone silent. He wasn't upset with her, and didn't blame her at all, but the lack of communication was unnerving. This opportunity to meet up had been serendipitous, but Harry felt even luckier that she'd agreed to it at all.
"Well, that settles it." Shuri told them "It's a girl."
She would be Lily. Harry realized, rolling the name around in his mind. For the moment, his guilt about Shuri's potential pregnancy was banished completely by the joy at Natasha's. He wondered what Lily would be like. Would she have her mother's hair? His eyes? Would she be as adventurous as he was? As headstrong as both of them were? Would she be able to do magic?
He couldn't wait to find out, to hold his daughter in his arms, to watch her grow up and discover who she was. No matter how it turned out, he was sure she would be brilliant. "Lily." Natasha breathed with a dazed smile. They'd shared their hopes and dreams of the future enough for him to know her thoughts right now were very alike his, that she too was imagining the future flowering in front of them.
Shuri's smile dimmed. And Harry had a sinking suspicion as to why. The checkup was the pretense for their meeting, but not the true reason. Already, Harry's joy was slipping away. "We need to talk, don't we?" He said.
Hesitantly, Shuri nodded.
"Are you pregnant?"
Shuri leaned back against the bench and stared studiously at her feet. Her words were soft, almost too soft for him to hear. "Yes."
What could he say? "I'm sorry." To his surprise, Shuri scoffed.
"Don't be." She shook her head "I… I wanted it too." She let out a hollow laugh "I'm such an idiot."
"You're the smartest person I know." Harry said "You're not-"
"And yet still I am!" Shuri snapped "I asked for this. I knew the risks, but still-" Words gave way to inarticulate frustration.
"If you want to blame someone, blame me." Natasha offered, surprising them both "I brought it up."
"Can we just skip the part where everyone blames themselves?" Skye chimed in. "It happened; shit happens. You just gotta deal with it." While Wanda's calendar was full, Skye had insisted on tagging along for this appointment, saying that she had nothing better to do. It was nice, how involved Wanda and Skye were making themselves. Both were enamored with the idea of being honorary aunts, and it warmed his heart, to know that Lily would have so many people that loved her.
"That's… fair." Shuri allowed.
"How do you want to deal with it?" Harry asked her, and Shuri hesitated.
"I'm not here to pressure you." He rushed to assure her. "Whatever decision you make, I'll do my best to support you. I just want to know where you're heads at."
"I know. I know." Shuri sighed "I've thought a lot about it and its just… I have to abort it. Right?"
Harry frowned, that wasn't exactly an enthusiastic commitment "You don't have to do anything. It's your decision. All that matters is what you want."
"It's not that simple." Shuri protested. "Me being pregnant would cause so many problems."
Harry nodded. There was no doubt that was true. He didn't know Wakandan society that well, but it didn't take a huge leap to suspect that the princess getting knocked up out of wedlock by a foreigner would be a huge scandal. He decided to drop the matter. Whatever Shuri's reasons, he didn't want to push her too hard on them.
"That's bullshit." Skye said bluntly.
"What?"
"If the reason you don't want to do this is because pregnancy or kids suck, or you can't afford it, or don't want to mess up your career or hobbies, that's fine. But if its just because a bunch of people are going to be assholes to you about it, just… fuck them. Fuck them all." Harry stared at her, suddenly grateful that Skye was here. Her passion had been one of the things that had first drawn him to her, as well as her utter disregard for arbitrary social restrictions.
Shuri was nearly speechless "I, uh, hadn't thought about it like that." Harry could see the gears turning in that magnificent brain of hers, it reminded him suddenly of Hermione working out a particularly challenging homework problem or deducing a potions-based logic puzzle.
"You don't need to decide now. You've got plenty of time, and it's a huge decision." Harry said, hoping to take some of the pressure off.
"Yeah, you're right." Shuri was happy to agree, to defer the decision until later. They could afford that now, but only for so long "Can we catch up?"
-----
Calling it a ship did it injustice. It was massive on a scale that straddled the line between constructed vessel and planetoid. In the flagship's wake was the wreckage of an entire fleet- the defensive fleet of Xandar. The distress signal had been sent out just before battle in orbit had been joined, and less than an hour later all that was left was debris.
Gamora clenched her hands in an attempt to steady herself and looked down at the planet. She could see the familiar signs of destruction. On the night side, lights were going out- though they hadn't everywhere, not yet. The invasion was still new. Fully massacring a planet took time, even for him. Their radio still picked up crackling messages- calls for help shouting into the void. She wondered how long it would take for those to be silenced.
He was down there, the man she had called 'father'- Thanos. "If he really is after the Power Stone, we'll need to land at the capital." Peter said. Gamora nodded silently. She didn't doubt that he was right.
She'd thought about this day for a long time, longer than she'd been free from him, even. What would she do when she saw him? Could she kill him? Would she, if she were to somehow get the advantage? She believed so- after all, her father had raised her to be nothing if not ruthless. It would be poetic if his carefully crafted weapon would be the one to end him.
"This is it." Drax said "Finally. Time for vengeance."
The ship shook as they entered atmosphere, and at several points they had to make evasive maneuvers. The airspace was chaos. Xandar's spacefleet had been destroyed, but the invaders were still taking out the planet-side defenses. Ground-based batteries sprayed the air with laser bolts which would occasionally take out a ship and send it veering wildly. Even from the air, though, Gamora could see that these centers of resistance were being taken out. She was once a part of that- eliminating holdouts, paving the way for the culling. This had once been her life, and it was odd, seeing it from such a distance.
They landed hard. There was no clear landing strip, and hardly any ground at all that wasn't scoured by fire or strewn with rubble. Rocket had put them down as close as possible to the facility they knew the Power Stone to be in- the rest was up to them.
Gamora comforted herself with the knowledge that they did have a formidable team. The addition of Thor and his Asgardian warriors gave Gamora hope. If only Nebula was with them. She had gone dark recently and worry for her sister gnawed at her constantly. More practically, it was worry over the implications of her Nebula's disappearance. She knew that her sister was investigating their dear 'father'- if he had caught her…
As worried as she was, there were more pressing matters at hand. At the very least, they may be able to catch Thanos by surprise. If they were lucky, Thor may even prove a match for him. They encountered little resistance as they pressed on into the facility- suspiciously little. So much for the element of surprise. It seemed that her father was expecting them.
The sounds of blaster fire pierced through the din of general destruction, and the team followed. That was good, if they could find Thanos before he got the Power Stone, they had a far better chance. She didn't want to even think of what he'd be capable of with that power. She knew him better than anyone- he was clever, ruthless, and above all determined. He would take any advantage, exploit any weakness, cause any amount of suffering to achieve his goal. With the Power Stone, he could scour planets clean and destroy armadas through will alone. Gamora knew, though, that for him that was only the beginning. She knew exactly what his plan was, and they needed to stop him now.
Their path took them underground, past the corpses and blast marks of the battle that had so recently been waged there, past security checkpoint after wrecked checkpoint and reinforced doors that had been blown apart, until… "And there they are."
He was just as she remembered him- all the pain, power, and cruelty just as potent as that day she'd met him. He was clad in his armor, massive blade in his hand, and flanked on both sides by his Black Order- themselves one of the most intimidating forces in known space. His voice was like a shot of adrenaline, activating every fight or flight instinct she'd ever known. With a cry, she lashed out at him, but she was thrown back by Ebony Maw.
Thanos frowned at his servant "No." He reprimanded "I want to see what she's made of."
"Daughter." His face shifted to a smile, and Gamora felt sick "I'm glad that this journey has crossed our paths again." I'm not your daughter. I'm a girl you kidnapped and brainwashed to be like you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. She wanted to say, but she didn't. Because he'd taught her well, and if he held even the slightest hint of affection for her, it was possible that she could use that against him. If there was even the smallest advantage to be gleaned, she couldn't throw the chance away.
"Thanos!" Drax shouted "You killed me wife, and my daughter!" He charged. This was the cue, apparently, for a general assault by the Guardians and Asgardians. Thor, naturally, went straight for Thanos. He sent his hammer out, and it struck Thanos in the side, staggering him. It wasn't much, but it was the most weakness that Gamora had ever seen from him.
She moved in, sliding beneath blaster fire and dodging an explosion. She struck, and the force of his parry sent her flying back. She rolled to her feet, looking up in time to see Thor close in. His hammer clanged with Thanos' blade, and the two engaged in a contest of brute strength. It immediately became clear that Thanos would win that contest, despite him only using one arm to drive the weapon downward. Thor's knees buckled against his unrelenting pressure, and in desperation he channeled electricity through his hammer and into Thanos' blade.
Thanos barely flinched.
Gamora knew that he had an incredible tolerance for pain, it would take far more than that to break his will. So she intervened, sword in one hand and knife in the other, hoping the catch him off guard. She hadn't. He swiped at her with his free hand- encased in a golden gauntlet. She ducked under the blow, but the movement caused her blade to clang uselessly against his armor. She lunged again, but this only allowed him to grab her and throw her to the ground. Though this time Gamora was able to draw blood- digging a knife between the crevices of his armor as he grappled her.
All this did nothing to help Thor. The Asgardian prince fell to his knees, and Thanos attempted to finish him off with a final swing of his blade. Thor just barely managed to parry the blow with his hammer, but the force had him flying back and colliding heavily against the wall regardless.
Gamora got to her feet and spat out blood. The battle was going worse than she'd feared, but she wasn't going to give up. She attacked again, nimbly sidestepping the downward swipe of Thanos' blade and slicing another cut into his arm. Thanos smirked "I have to admit, you've still got it." He jabbed with his gauntlet, and she was too overcommitted to dodge it. She skidded and tumbled painfully across the rubble strewn ground, and then Peter was there, covering her and sending a volley of blaster fire Thanos' way.
It didn't do much, but it might give her some time to pick herself up and get her bearings. She looked around, and she saw that they were clearly overmatched. Cull Obsidian was bashing his way through the warriors three, while Sif was barely holding on against Corvus Glaive. Proxima midnight had been taken out, luckily enough, by Mantis. Their opponents often underestimated her, not realizing the acute danger posed by her abilities before they were unconscious on the ground.
Ebony Maw, however, was another matter. He was the most fanatical and the most dangerous of Thanos' followers. She'd never seen such mastery of telekinesis, and she knew that he secretly had airs of being the greatest sorcerer in the universe. While she had rolled her eyes at his pretensions, it was obvious that those present were no match for him. Mantis had been run through by two metal barbs through her abdomen and pinned to a wall, and Gamora had to fight the urge to go to her, to protect her and tend to her wounds. He had also taken out Groot and Drax, but thankfully they were merely in impromptu metal bonds. Rocket still kept up the fight with a harassing strategy. He set up a series of automated turrets to rain down diversionary fire from several directions, forcing Ebony Maw to dispatch the decoys. While that was no problem of Maw, he shredded equipment and cover alike with relish, it left Rocket free to set up more traps and turrets. The guerilla tactics were clever, but it was only a matter of time before Rocket ran out of either guns, cover, or luck.
And then there was Thanos. Gamora suspected now that even if it was just him alone, they probably wouldn't be able to win. But they had to try. Thor pushed himself up and resummoned his hammer. He was clearly of the same mind.
Thor was a little smarter in the next bout. He kept some distance, using Mjolnir and lighting to attack at range. However, he underestimated Thanos' agility, who closed the gap between them with a frightening burst of speed. Thor barely had time to react before he was pummeled into the ground, his hammer landing heavily next to him. "I wonder…" Thanos looked down at the hammer with a look of genuine curiosity. Gamora wanted to roll her eyes, she'd heard the story about that hammer, and of course her dear 'father' would think he might be worthy.
He bent down, gripped Mjolnir's handle, and pulled. Predictably, the hammer resisted him, and Thanos huffed in disappointment. "Not worthy." Thor managed a smirk as he struggled back to his feet.
"Perhaps." Thanos agreed. Then he kicked Thor to the ground and grabbed him by the shoulder, before pummeling the Asgardian against his own weapon. After perhaps half a minute of fierce struggle he let Thor drop, limp, to the ground. "Pity." He said "I was expecting more."
"We're screwed, aren't we?" Peter said.
"Yeah." She nodded "Remember what you promised me." And Peter flinched. She had laid a heavy burden on him, one even she would struggle with if their places were reversed, but there was nothing for it. She knew where the Soul Stone was, and she had made sure every trace of its location was burned. Thanos could not- could never be allowed to find it. If it came to it, she had to die.
Peter was the only one she trusted to make sure that happened.
That plan might have worked, even, if it were just her father that they were facing. But by then Ebony Maw had silenced Rocket- though she did not know if her friend was biding his time, out of equipment, unconscious, or dead. With Thanos' directive to leave Gamora to him, that only left Peter as a target.
He really was good in combat- able to use his rocket shoes to dodge and weave through the projectiles the Ebony Maw sent at him. But Gamora knew that Peter didn't stand a chance- all he could do was hope to survive and take pot shots. She was alone, which meant there was only one option left. With a swift motion, she raised her sword in the air and pointed it down at her chest. It would be quick and painful, but effective. She hesitated for just a moment, letting her eyes close as she braced herself for her last moments of life.
At least she'd be dying beside her friends- family. It was a better death than she could have hoped for, at one time.
And then she felt a grip on her arm, restraining her. She opened her eyes and had to suppress a shudder at Thanos' smile. "Now then, let's not do anything reckless." He told her, and she looked to Peter, hoping that he might still be able to help her, but he had been taken down. A splinter of shrapnel had struck his shoe, sending him flying erratically and colliding with the ceiling. "After all, we both know I need you alive."