Anja braced herself against the railing of her bedroom's balcony, singing along quietly to music playing on her phone as a way to distract her from the situation at hand. Her mind was racing, running over all the possible outcomes of their impending showdown with Thanos. Knowing that there was a nonzero chance that she or someone she loved was going to be killed made her stomach churn. Not that it wasn't doing that enough already. She figured she must've eaten something that was disagreeing with her or that her nerves were just so shot that they decided to make her feel nauseous. Either was entirely possible at this point. Regardless, she felt disgusting.

    She had already changed into her new Asgardian armor, and it was taking some getting used to. Anja had never owned a set of armor before- other than her S.H.I.E.L.D. garb- and it was certainly refreshing to know her body would finally have some proper protection. Her new get-up reminded her of the footage she had seen of Lady Sif when she assisted S.H.I.E.L.D. some years ago. Only her armor was a dark emerald green where Sif's was red, and what was silver metal on Sif's armor was black and gold on Anja's. She could tell Loki had heavily influenced the design, once again mirroring his own armor. Anja just hoped that this armor was as functional as it was pretty.

    She was still sore and bruised in places from the last encounter with Thanos and his minions, not to mention what remained of the scorch mark on her forehead from the Power Stone. It was nearly healed completely, and she was praying that it didn't leave a scar. Despite that, she was as ready as she could be for a rematch against Thanos and his army. Loki had told her many times before that there was no truly preparing for a foe of that magnitude, and her first encounter was more than enough to believe that. Fighting Thanos was nothing like fighting Ultron or any of her Avengers' teammates.

    Yet, there she was, singing along to whatever song popped up on her phone as she waited for someone to fetch her when they were ready to depart for Wakanda. The last bit of normality before unfathomable war broke out. Anja had seen the destruction and devastation war could bring between her involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the aftermath of Ultron and the Avengers' Civil War. It was never pretty, and she was sure whatever was awaiting them at the end of this was going to be unlike anything she had ever seen. She took in the vast landscape in front of her, lit up by the early morning sun, trying her best to not wonder if this was the last time she would see it as she sang along.

    "In the dark of the night, terror will strike her
    In the dark of the night, evil will brew.
    Soon she will feel
    That her nightmares are real
    In the dark of the night-"

    "Kind of a morbid song for you to be singing right about now, don't you think?" Layla's voice interrupted her.

    Anja spun around to face her friend, startled. She quickly picked her phone off the railing and turned the music off. "It was on shuffle," she answered hastily, pushing one of the many braids in her hair behind her ear. "And you know I can't resist a good villain song."

    "Uh huh," Layla replied. "Anyway, are you ready to get out of here? They're all waiting for you at the Bifrost."

    Anja sighed. "As ready as I can be, I think."

    Layla nodded, a solemn smile on her face. "I know you're nervous about it just being you and Loki going, but you guys are going to do great. Just know Thor and I will be arriving shortly behind you with reinforcements. And then we'll kill that son of a bitch once and for all."

    Anja smiled, but it was forced. She couldn't tell if Layla was actually confident that they were going to be victorious or not. Just that morning she had made it seem as if she was sure they were all going to die. She supposed both things could be true, giving them a Pyrrhic victory of sorts. Anja didn't dare think of what that victory would taste like. She had suffered loss in battle before; she didn't want to experience it again but knew it was likely inevitable.

    "Of course," is what she replied, but it was empty.

    With that, the two girls stepped back into Anja's room. She set her phone down on the table next to her tiara as they walked passed it, making the decision to leave it there instead of lugging it to Wakanda where it would likely get destroyed in battle. At least this way if she survived she wouldn't have to deal with the hell that was going to her service provider's store and getting a new phone. And if she died, well, it wouldn't be an issue anymore. She figured the only person who would be trying to contact her at that point would be Layla, given all the weird circumstances, and she knew exactly where she was going and could call Steve or something if needed.

    Layla caught her friend's uneasy facial expression, and bumped shoulders with her as they continued walking out of her bedroom and down towards the Bifrost. "You still feeling queasy?" she asked.

    Anja nodded. "I think my nerves are shot from all of this, honestly. It's got my stomach in knots, but I'm going to try to just push through it. I don't have a choice, you know?"

    "Hopefully it gets its shit together before the battle. Can't have you throwing up everywhere," Layla replied. "Although maybe it would gross Thanos out enough he just leaves."

    "Having fought that madman, I don't think a little vomit is going to deter him," Anja muttered. "But a girl can dream, I suppose."

    "You and I both know you don't want to dream about him," Layla retorted with a laugh.

    "No, can't say that I do," Anja assured, unable to hide the disgust in her voice. "I prefer my dreams to be very Thanos-free."

    "They're probably all of Loki," Layla teased.

    Anja shrugged, knowing what she was about to say would ruin her friend's day- even if it wasn't completely true. "Yup, and all of them are very not safe for work."

    "Ugh, TMI, Anja," Layla responded.

    "Hey, you're the one who brought up what I dream about," Anja replied. "You should know better."

    Layla didn't get a chance to reply to her before they reached the Observatory. Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and Heimdall were all standing there talking amongst themselves until they noticed the women enter the room. The four of them were dressed in their armor as well, leaving Layla as the only one dressed casually.

    "I feel like I missed a memo," Layla said, crossing her arms with a huff.

    "You can change once we see Loki and Anja off," Thor answered. "It won't be long now that you have arrived."

    Loki stepped forward as Anja took another step towards him. He met her with an outstretched hand to take hers and a devilish grin on his face. "I'm glad to see your armor fits perfectly," he stated, "but you're missing one important little detail..."

    His voice trailed off, and he waved his free hand in front of her face. After a few moments, Anja felt something heavy, cold, and metallic come to rest on her head, framing her face and cheek bones. Anja took the hand Loki wasn't holding and reached up to touch whatever it was he had conjured onto her, and soon realized it was a headpiece of some nature. The horns threw her off for a moment though. They were nowhere near as large as the ones on Loki's helmet, but prominent enough that they would not go without notice. Anja knew exactly why he did this, even if he didn't admit to it.

    "They suit you," he said quietly, interrupting her thoughts.

    Anja smiled, more than positive she was bushing. "Thank you."

    "Look at you guys; matching and shit," Layla chimed in. "It's cute."

    Anja rolled her eyes at her friend, but the smile on her face remained as Heimdall interrupted them.

    "Our comrades have just arrived in Wakanda. The Bifrost is ready for your departure," he announced. "So whenever you are finished..."

    Loki nodded, and then turned to look at Thor. "Last chance to change your mind," he stated.

    "Wouldn't dream of it," Thor retorted. "We'll see you shortly."
     
    Loki looked back at Anja. "Are you ready, min kjære?"

    "As ready as possible," she answered, taking a deep breath.

    Loki held her hand tightly as he led her over to the Bifrost's gate before looking over his shoulder at his brother. "See you on the other side," he said.

    The God of Mischief put his attention back on Heimdall, and with a curt nod, the gatekeeper turned his sword on its pedestal. Before Anja had time to properly brace herself, the rainbow colored light of the Bifrost engulfed the two of them, sending them flying through space. Even though this was not Anja's first time traveling using the Bifrost, it still felt rather strange and uncomfortable. She was, however, more than grateful that this time she wasn't holding onto two severely injured people.

    When she felt her feet hit the ground in Wakanda, she grasped onto Loki as she steadied herself from the travel and her queasy stomach. After a few moments of doing her damnedest to not vomit, she glanced up to finally get a glimpse of her surroundings. Anja had never been to Wakanda- she had only seen it in pictures a few times and on the news- so that in itself would be exciting if it weren't for the circumstances that brought her there.

    From what little Anja could see of Wakanda from this vantage point, the vast fields and forests made the large imposing palace in front of her only more intimidating. Her mind didn't allow her to focus on that for long though. Her eyes immediately darted to the Quinjet several yards away, and the group of people standing near it. Anja wasn't unduly worried about seeing most of them- the meeting the other night took away most of the fears of a reunion- but there was one person standing among the group of ten Anja was admittedly a little nervous about seeing.

    Standing among Steve, Bruce, Sam, Natasha, Rhodes, Bucky, T'Challa, and a woman Anja hadn't met yet, were Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Once upon a time, before the Avengers' Civil War, Anja and Wanda had been friends. They weren't as close as Anja was with Layla and Spencer, or even Nat, but they had been friends. Anja had done her best to include Wanda in on everything the girls did together. All that came to an end when they found themselves on opposite sides of the schism. This was the first time they had seen each other since then. Anja was ready to bury the hatchet in this case, but she wasn't sure Wanda would feel similarly.

    She didn't have long to contemplate it though. Using the Bifrost to travel meant that all ten sets of eyes were on them from the moment they landed. Anja held Loki's hand tightly in hers as the two of them approached the group.

    "Glad to see you two could make it," Steve greeted as the two of them came to a stop a few feet away.

    "Fashionably late as always," Bucky teased from beside him. He had a smile on his face, but Anja could see through it. She knew he was more than aware that Spencer was lost in space, and with their most recent reunion being just days ago, she was sure the man was beyond hurt.

    Anja shrugged nonchalantly, smiling at him. "Well you know how it is, Buck; if the world is going to end, I may as well look good while it happens."

    "It's a new look," Wanda added, reminding Anja that she was there. Anja turned to look at her, noticing how tired and weary both she and Vision looked. Vision appeared to have a recent injury to his abdomen, and Anja couldn't help but wonder if they had met some of Thanos' forces before Steve and the rest of the group found them.

    "Well... lots of things have changed since the last time we saw each other," Anja replied. "For both of us, I think."

Wanda nodded a little. "I'd agree to that."

    Anja released Loki's hand so she could take another step forward and hug Wanda. As her former friend hugged her back, Anja spoke once more, "I am so sorry for everything that happened a few years ago."

    "It's alright," Wanda answered. "It wasn't your fault. You were just a kid back then, Anja. You still are, really."

"She's about to be a queen," Bucky interjected.

    Wanda released Anja from the hug as she pulled away to look Anja over. "A queen? Now that is a change worth mentioning," she said. Anja watched as Wanda looked past her at Loki. "I assume this must be your new beau."

    Anja smiled and turned to take a step back to Loki, taking his hand in hers once again. "You would be correct," she replied, glancing up at him before looking back at Wanda. "This is Loki, one of the Kings of Asgard." Anja paused for a moment before continuing. "Loki, this is Wanda and Vision. They're old friends of mine."

    "Pleasure to meet the both of you," Loki stated. Anja noticed him eyeing the Mind Stone that rested on Vision's forehead with curiosity, but said nothing to it.

    "I've heard a lot about you," Wanda answered. That response confused Anja for a moment, but then she remembered that as a former Avenger, Wanda was likely briefed on all sorts of information- including Loki. After all, the Mind Stone that was in Wanda's lover's head was part of the scepter Loki had used during the New York invasion and was the very thing that had given her powers as well.

    Not to mention, Wanda and Clint were close too, so Anja was sure he complained about his adventures in brainwashing and lamented his hatred towards Loki to her too.

    "All good things, I hope," Loki responded. Anja knew he already knew the answer to that.

    Wanda smiled. "Depends on who you ask, honestly."

    "Not to cut this reunion short, but we should probably head inside and get everything started," Nat interrupted. "We've got a lot to do in a limited time frame."

    Anja nodded. "Of course. Lead the way."

*****

    Anja would've been lying if she said she wasn't bored as everyone gathered around the lab inside the palace. She and Loki sat off to the side as most of the rest of the group hovered along the edges of the room, awaiting the next phase of the plan. A table was the room's focal point, and Bruce was standing beside it, ready to provide insight. Vision was lying on its surface, completely still as the Wakandan princess, Shuri, scanned him with some sort of fancy technology that Anja didn't recognize. A hologram of the Mind Stone appeared, and the princess stared at it curiously.

    "The structure is polymorphic," she announced.

    Anja had no idea what that meant, but she didn't have to. Bruce was handling all the techy, scientific talk this time. "Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially," he answered.

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

    Bruce was silent for a moment as he pondered the question. "Because... we... didn't think of it," he answered sheepishly.

    Shuri smiled, but Anja found it to be more condescending than anything since her reply was, "I'm sure you did your best."

    Luckily, Wanda quickly changed the topic off of whatever apparent failures Bruce and Tony had made while making Vision several years ago. "Can you do it?" she inquired.

    "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures," Shuri replied, glancing over Vision a few times as she spoke. She turned to T'Challa. "It will take time, brother."

    But it was Steve who answered her. "How long?"

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

    No one had a chance to reply as a whirring, yet beeping noise interrupted the conversation. The woman she didn't recognize from earlier- that Anja had since learned was named Okoye- raised her palm and flicked her bracelet, causing a small ball to roll from hit and display a hologram.

    "Something's entered the atmosphere," she announced.

    Moments later, Sam Wilson's voice played over Steve's comms. "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here."

    The combination of both of these statements caused Anja and Loki both to turn to look out the window beside them, trying to get a look at whatever was causing these alerts. In her heart, Anja already knew it was likely Thanos and his forces. Just as she had finally turned enough to see the city, there was a loud explosion as a vessel crashed into the defense shield surrounding Wakanda.

    Once the sound of the explosion dissipated, Rhodes' voice came over the comms next. "Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome."

    Anja looked back up, and sure enough, there were several vessels shooting through the sky, coming to crash just on the outside of Wakanda's protective barrier, sending shockwaves that rippled up it. She felt her stomach flip again, her skin instantly clammy from the thought of already having to fight Thanos again. She silently prayed that Thor and Layla arrived with reinforcements sooner than later. This was far from good.

    By now everyone was gathered along the windows, staring at what was happening outside. All except Vision, who was slowly trying to get off the table despite his injuries.

    "It's too late," he stated. "We need to destroy the stone now."

    Natasha moved away from the window, heading back towards him. "Vision, get your ass back on the table."

    "We will hold them off," T'Challa declared. It was hard not to believe him with how determined his voice sounded. He moved away from the window, a few of the guards following beside him.

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

    Anja knew Wanda well enough to hear the hesitation in her voice when she assured him, "I will."

    Meanwhile, T'Challa was still barking orders. "Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures." He paused for a moment to turn, pointing to Steve. "And get this man a shield."

    Anja took a shaky breath just as Loki squeezed her hand tightly in his. This was it. The inevitable war was finally upon them. Despite whatever preparations T'Challa was putting in place now, nothing was going to be enough to truly prepare them for what was coming.

*****

Hello everyone. I apologize for how long this chapter took me to write. I had it about 3/4 of the way done for the last two weeks, but admittedly I have not been in the best mindset. About a week and a half ago, my best friend's father unexpectedly passed away. My best friend and I have been friends for nearly my entire life (we're talking roughly 25 years of friendship at this point), so her father was like my own. Needless to say this has taken a huge toll on me, and writing fell by the wayside while we grieved and laid him to rest. My best friend flew back home yesterday, so things are slowly returning to "normal," whatever that is now.

So the last chunk of it is admittedly not up to my standards, but one day I will go and edit it. The whole "you cannot edit a blank page" quote was my thought process here.

Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well. And staying cool if wherever you are is anything like where I am right now! Thanks again, as always, for your patience with me. I truly appreciate it.

~arty_writes