Miss America: The Daughter of Steve Rogers

Chapter 7

Vision lays on a table, while Bruce and Shuri stand over him, and the rest of us watch. Shuri scans the stone, and studies the hologram.

"Whoa. The structure is polymorphic."

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

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?" She asks with her famous smirk.

Bruce, staring for a moment, finally speaks. "Because, we didn't think of it."

"I'm sure you did your best." Shuri says.

"Can you do it?" Wanda asks her, worried for the love of her life.

"Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures." She turns to T'Challa. "It will take time, brother."

"How long?" Steve asks.

"As long as you can give me."

Looking at a device that just alerted her, Okoye states, "Something's entered the atmosphere."

Outside, Sam and Bucky stand, looking up a the sky. Sam says over the comm. "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here."

The defense shield around Wakanda destroys one of the vessels entering the atmosphere.

"God, I love this place." Bucky sighs.

"Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome." Sam informs us. We all look out the window and notice the large space crafts landing down, shaking the ground beneath our feet.

Appearing beside the window with all of us, Vision says, exhausted, "It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now."

Turning toward him, Nat looks serious. "Vision, get your ass back on the table."

"We will hold them off." I tell him and then look to Wanda. "Wanda, as soon as the stone's out of his head... you blow it to hell."

"I will." She nods.

"Evacuate the city. Engage all defense procedures." T'Challa then points to Steve. "And get this man a shield."

A quick stop to the Artillery Room. Cap gets his shields, Bucky grabs a gun, and I look around, deciding on what I should use.

I go for a large rifle I can holster into my back, a Swiss Army knife I can keep in a side holster on my thigh, and a shield. I don't normally use shields, but who knows what we're up against. I need to be prepared for anything.

And I guess I take after my father.

"Nice choice." Steve says to me, startling me as I didn't realize he was behind me. "You okay?"

"Ready to kick some alien ass." He smiles at me as I say this, but I can see the worry written all over his face. "Are you okay?"

"I know I don't need to worry about you out there, but I know I will."

"Steve, I'm not a little kid anymore." I send him a soft smile. "I'm at the ripe old age of 72. I'll be fine. It's them you'll have to worry about." I gesture my head towards the window where we can see space ships lining up.

He smiles and nods as we head out to the Wakandan battlefield.

Their carriers hover over the ground with Wakandan soldier and Natasha, Steve, Bucky, and I on board, while Bruce is in the Hulkbuster.

"How we looking, Bruce?" Nat asks him.

While walking, Bruce responds, "Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it. Wow! It's like being the Hulk without actually-" He stumbles on a rock, and a carrier goes by, from which Okoye gives him a dubious look. He stands. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Doesn't he turn into a big green rage monster? Why does he need the suit?" I lean in and whisper to Nat.

"It's a long story." Steve tells me and I nod.

"We got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line." Sam informs us through the comm links.

M'Baku of the Jubari rallies his soldiers with a war cry. He stops as T'Challa nears him. "Thank you for standing with us."

"Of course, brother." M'Baku states.

T'Challa, Steve, Natasha, and I walk to the edge of the barrier, where Proxima Midnight and Obsidian Cole stand.

"Where's your other friend?" Nat asks in a some what mocking manor.

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

"That's not gonna happen." Steve says sharply.

"You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood." T'Challa tells her.

"We...Have blood to spare." She raises her right arm with a cry, and several large ships emerge from the forest behind her.

"I'm gonna enjoy killing you, darling." I say curly my fists. She smiles back at me and begins to back up.

Then we return to the front line.

"Did they surrender?" Bucky asks us.

"Not exactly." Steve tells him.

"And we won't either." I punch my hand to my palm. I'm ready to get my hands dirty.

T'Challa leads the Wakandans in the war cry "Yibambe!" telling them to hold fast as the Outriders bound toward the barrier.

"What the hell?" Bucky asks, seeing what's happening at the base of the dome.

"Looks like we pissed her off." Nat says.

T'Challa commands the soldiers to engage their shields.

Watching as the Outriders bombard the dome only a few getting through, Okoye looks is disgust and shock. "They're killing themselves."

Those of us that have rifles and guns begin firing at the beasts running towards us. I'm a pretty good shot, hitting every target I aim at.

Sam sends Redwings into the fight as he flies, "You seen the teeth on those things?"

"Alright, back up, Sam. You're gonna get your wings singed." Rhodes flies over a section that has been breached and drops a barrage of mines.

"Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us... There's nothing between them and Vision." Sam informs us.

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

"How do we do that?" I ask.

"We open the barrier." Putting his hand to his ear, T'Challa reluctantly says, "On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."

"Requesting confirmation, My King. You said open the barrier?" A Wakandan Officer asks from inside the lab.

"On my signal."

"This will be the end of Wakanda." M'Baku tells Okoye.

"Then it will be the noblest ending in history." She says, waiting.

The section of the barrier is opened.

"Wakanda Forever!" T'Challa crosses his hands over his chest as his Black Panther helmet covers his face, leading the army as they run toward the barrier. I toss my rifle back in my holster and sprint towards the enemy. T'Challa, Steve, and I are at the front of the advancing army. "Now!" The section in the barrier disappears and the Outriders charge at us. "How much longer, Shuri?" He asks over the comm.

"We've barely begun, brother." I hear her voice.

"You might want to pick up the pace." I tell her as I fight off the creatures clawing at me.