Avengers: Breathe (Avengers: Infinity War Major Spoilers)

Chapter 1

For a moment, no one spoke. Steve looked around at those who remained, standing in the glade. "Has anyone seen Sam?" he asked, surprised at how calm he sounded, as though Sam was just taking an awfully long time to collect the take-away or to grab his gym kit from the locker room.

"Been looking, no luck," Rhodes said. He looked at Vision's body on the ground. "I'm guessing that Wanda must be..."

"And Groot," said Rocket, kicking a stone.

"And my King," said Okoye.

"Oh, this really isn't good," said Bruce, still inside the damaged Hulkbuster suit.

"Bucky," Steve breathed, trying to push the image of Bucky turning to dust in front of him from his mind.

"Hey Steve," Natasha said, "I don't - " she swayed and stumbled.

"Woah, Nat," Steve said, grabbing hold of her before she could fall. "No. No, Natasha, are you...?" Fear and panic gripped him, certain that Natasha was about to crumble as he held her.

"I can't breathe," Natasha said, holding her chest and allowing Steve to take her weight, "I - I can't breathe..."

"Earlier she took a hit," Okoye said, using one of the beads on her bracelet to scan Natasha's body. "Most valiantly, and I am not surprised that she requires medical assistance. Once the adrenaline from the heat of battle wears off, the pain and shock sets in."

"Hey," Steve said gently, holding onto Natasha, forcing himself to breathe. "You're gunna be ok. Just, just..."

"Is it just us?" Natasha asked, every breathe like a stab in the side, ignoring Cap's comment. She looked around the group, her eyes filled with tears, "Or everyone?"

"What?"

"Are they all gone?"

The group looked around, their fear palatable, worried that at any moment they too may turn to dust.

"Yes. Half of everyone," Thor said. "It will be half of everyone."

Steve realised what Natasha was thinking. Clint. Scott. Fury. Hill. What about those off-world? Tony? Pepper? What about the princess? The President? Steve could feel the others looking at him. "We've got work to do."

"We must return to the city," Okoye said. "Try to keep order in Wakanda. In the world. People will be afraid. We must do what we can."

"You are a captain?" Thor asked.

"You have a problem with that?" Okoye asked.

"On the contrary," said Thor, allowing himself a small smile. "You quite remind me of my mother."

...

Some hours later, as evening became night, Steve found himself sitting in the mess hall alone. The Princess Shuri, the Dowager Queen and the surviving members of Wakanda's executive leadership were locked behind closed doors, with orders coming out at irregular intervals. Okoye was commanding what remained of the Wakandian armed forces to assist with clean-up and peace-keeping. Bruce had been seconded to the science division, Rhodes was working alongside Okoye in peace keeping. Goodness only knew where Thor and Rocket had gone. Most media channels were completely shut down. There was still BBC World News of course, and Al Jazeera. These were being shown on alternate screens around the mess hall, running lists of names of those who were missing. Gone. Lost. Dust. Whatever word people wanted to use. Thor had been right. It was half of the population of the planet. Just gone.

This isn't real. Steve couldn't believe it. Somehow, it felt fake. Like they'd been dumped in alternate reality. He'd spent the past hour queuing up alongside other warriors who were well enough to stand, but still in need of a little first aid. He'd seen a nurse who gave him a tube of cream for his wounds, checked him for concussion, and sent him to shower, change and eat. He'd taken a cold shower on purpose, and the cream had felt cool on the split on his forehead, and the other cuts and bruises he'd acquired.