KATHARINE WAS SURE THAT THIS WAS NOT WHAT SHE SIGNED UP FOR. When she agreed to be Tony Stark's government liaison, she did not expect to be dragged into Avengers business. What she has signed up for was an easy desk job that only sometimes required her to train new recruits.

Maybe she should have started from the beginning.

July twenty-fifth was proving to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Katharine was taking a stroll through Central Park with Pepper Potts at her side. That was only the prelude to a day full of meetings for Pepper and dealing with Tony Stark for Katharine.

Nowhere in her day planner did it say, "Protect Pepper while a giant alien donut terrorized New York City," or, "Get in a Quinjet with Natasha Romanoff as your boss takes a one-way ride into space."

But Katharine couldn't say she was surprised. She figured it'd be sooner or later that she'd have to deal with the Avengers once again. She could even say that their fates were intertwined with her own, ensuring that she'd be apart of whatever crazy things they got themselves into.

"Drop to twenty-six hundred, heading 0-3-0."

Katharine sat in the back of the Quinjet next to Rhodey as Sam Wilson piloted the aircraft. Natasha was on her other side while Bruce, Wanda, and Vision occupied the other side of the jet.

"I hope you're right about this, Cap," Sam said before following his directions, guiding the Quinjet into a descent. "Or we're going to land a lot faster than you want to."

Katharine also hoped that Steve was right about this. She didn't need a plane crash on top of the giant donut invasion back in New York.

All doubts vanished, however, when the Quinjet breached a camouflage forcefield and revealed Wakanda's Golden City to them. She watched in awe as they flew overhead, going as far as getting out of her seat to look out the window.

They finally landed on an airstrip outside what looked to be the palace. For lack of better words, it was gorgeous.

She was among the first out of the ship behind Steve and Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey following her while Wanda and Vision took up the rear.

She listened as Bruce not-so-subtly asked Rhodey if he should bow, to which the man replied, "Yeah, he's a king."

Katharine rolled her eyes goodnaturedly as Steve greeted King T'Challa. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something," he said, shaking the reigning monarch's hand.

Katharine greeted the king with a nod of her head, smiling slightly as he returned the gesture. She stepped to the side as Bruce greeted him, awkwardly bowing to the man.

"What are you doing?" Rhodey asked, faking shock. Katharine chuckled as Bruce stood back up, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

"We don't do that here," T'Challa explained, dissuading Bruce with a wave of his hand. The scientist shot Rhodey a look, who returned it with a big grin. "So how big of an assault can we expect?"

T'Challa began leading them into the building, which Katharine guessed was more for administrative purposes than any other.

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

"They really didn't look like they were joking," Katharine tacked on, having been there when "Squidward," as Tony referred to him, arrived. "But how are we looking, if I may ask."

The King regarded her with a strong look, recognition glazing over his features for only a moment. "You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and..." he trailed off as Bucky Barnes walked into the room, an enormous smile on his face.

"And a semi-stable, one-hundred-year-old man," he finished, moving toward Steve as a few Kingsmen took Vision and Wanda into another facility. Katharine watched as the two embraced, deciding not to dwell on the look of recognition T'Challa had regarded her with. She figured he had read her file or something, knowing SHIELD it wasn't unlikely that he had.

While T'Challa, his sister, Shuri, and Bruce disappeared into the lab with Bruce and the head of the Dora Milaje, Okoye, Katharine found herself wandering outside with Natasha not too far behind. A few yards in front of them, Sam and Bucky were walking the same path they were.

"So," Natasha began, kicking a pebble as Katharine fiddled with her earpiece. "How's the married life? Should we be expecting any miniature federal agents anytime soon?"

Katharine shook her head. "Not with our jobs as hectic as they are right now." She crossed her arms over her chest. "We've talked about kids and decided that we've still got time. Besides, I've still got, what, nine to twenty years left before I have to worry about any of that. And who knows, maybe my mom passed on the no-menopause gene to me and I'll be popping out children at seventy."

There was a lull in their conversation while they looked out into the horizon, Katharine wondering what exactly Spencer was doing at that moment. As far as he knew, she was still in New York though he probably figured out what was happening based on the news reports of the alien ship descending on New York.

She tapped her fingers against her biceps. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"If I don't make it... can you play Spencer the tape?" Katharine looked over at her friend. She was considered one of Katharine's closest friends, the redhead-now blonde assassin being there for her more times than she could count. She saw the conflict flicker across Natasha's features before they settled, returning to the same emotionless slate she tried to maintain at all times.

"I don't think that tape will ever have to play..." Natasha trailed off. "But if it comes to it, I will." In a rare moment of weakness, Natasha pulled Katharine in for a hug, squeezing her tightly. "You know I love you, right?"

Katharine wrapped her arms around the former Russian spy. "I know," she said. Katharine pulled away so she could look at her friend's face. "I love you too, сестра."

KATHARINE FIGURED SHE EITHER HAD THE BEST OR THE WORST TIMING IN THE WORLD. As soon as the words left her mouth, something came crashing through the atmosphere, startling both spies.

"Hey, Cap," Katharine heard over the comms. She and Natasha jogged to catch up with Sam and Bucky. "We got a situation here."

They came to a stop next to Sam and Bucky, watching as the defense shield over the city destroyed one of the alien vessels. She watched in awe as what should have been sturdy alien machinery got crushed like a soda can.

"God," Bucky commented, watching the same thing she was. "I love this place."

The comms crackled back to life as Rhodey patched in. "Don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome."

Katharine watched as shockwaves moved outward from the debris, destroying acres of forest in its wake before boiling up against the dome. She winced at the sight, not taking very kindly to the assault against Mother Nature. She didn't even want to begin thinking how long it'd take to regrow the trees in the forest.

She hurried back into the building with Bucky at her side, Sam and Natasha separating from them as Bucky brought her into what seemed to be a limited armory. He handed her a pistol before grabbing an M249 SAW Paratrooper for himself. Katharine snatched up a few detachable magazines, sliding them into their spaces along her belt.

They reconvened with Sam and Natasha, making their way to where Steve and T'Challa were rallying the troops. They boarded the aircrafts alongside everyone else, Katharine nervously cracking her knuckles as they flew out onto the battlefield.

Katharine tapped the backs of her metal bracelets together as she stood next to Bucky. The metal grew over her clenched fists, activating as she got used to the feeling around her hands yet again.

T'Challa, Steve, and Natasha came back from talking at the border, solemn looks on their faces.

"Did they surrender?" Bucky asked sardonically, overlooking the alien ships that opened.

Steve looked at him slightly before shaking his head. "Not exactly."

Katharine's eyes widened at the sheer amount of aliens that came rushing at the border, trying not to flinch as they ran themselves into the force field with no regard for their own lives. Limbs that managed to make it through the wall were cut off, falling dead on the grassy field in front of them.

"They're killing themselves," said Okoye, her tone horrified as an Outrider got sliced in half by the force field.

Katharine raised her hands as a few managed to make their way through the walls, the Border Tribe taking a knee and revealing their shields. The Kingsguard raised their spears over the shields and fired, taking out the few that managed to get by while Sam and Rhodey fired from overhead.

She took a few shots of her own, testing out how well her blasters would hold up in a fight. Luckily, she managed to take a few out before Sam asked, "You seen the teeth on those things?"

Rhodey warned Sam out of the way before he dropped bombs over the border, creating a chain of explosions.

"Cap," Bruce warned, "if these things circle the perimeter and get behind us, there's nothing between them and vision."

"Then we better keep them in front of us," Steve responded grimly. Katharine gritted her teeth together rolling her shoulders back.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw T'Challa raise his comms to his mouth. "On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."

"Requesting confirmation, my King," replied Dome Control. "You said open the barrier?"

"On my signal."

Katharine inhaled shakily, flexing her palms. She watched as Steve readied one of his Vibranium handguards and the Border Tribesmen disengaged their shields. She looked over at Natasha, who looked more determined than she had in a while. Katharine looked forward, rolling her neck out.

T'Challa walked out in front of everyone, his eyes never leaving the enemy.

"Wakanda forever!" he yelled, taking off down the field not even a moment after. Katharine joined in the scattered battle cries, running alongside Bucky as T'Challa gave the order to open the border.

She clashed with the nearest crowd of Outriders, launching herself above their heads and taking out as many as she could. She whipped around, shooting them right in their open mouths and panting heavily as several fell around her.

Yet more still poured out. It seemed that for every alien she took down, at least five came forward to replace it.

She fell back, tripping over Bucky's gun as the Outriders came up over her. She screamed, doing her best to blast as many of them off her as she could.

Katharine took hold of Bucky's gun, making her way to standing before shooting the alien off of her friend. She helped him up, shoving the gun back in his hand before telling him to duck.

She shot a few over Bucky's shoulder, breathing heavily as Bucky reloaded his gun.

"I've got your back if you've got mine," Katharine suggested, pulling the pistol from her hip and sinking a few bullets into their skulls.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Bucky grinned back, returning to the fight.

Suddenly, a large beam of rainbow-hued light landed in the middle of the field, blowing several aliens back. Katharine turned away from the debris that flew at them, Bucky quickly taking her under his arm and blocking their faces with his metal arm.

She peered over the protection as she saw Thor standing in the middle of the field, accompanied by what looked to be a tree-man and a humanoid raccoon.

She heard Bruce laugh over the comms. "You guys are so screwed now!"

Katharine watched in awe as Thor called out, "Bring me Thanos," before launching himself into the air with his electric-charged ax, slamming the weapon into the oncoming hoard of aliens.

She stood back to back with Bucky as they fired at the oncoming aliens, taking them down as the talking raccoon made its way into their small clearing.

"Come and get some, space dogs!" the raccoon yelled, shooting several aliens in the face. Katharine stuck to Bucky's back as he picked up the raccoon, shooting with his left hand as the raccoon fired multiple rounds.

"How much for the gun?" he asked when Bucky put him down, Katharine rolling her eyes as she fired a few more shots into an alien's skull. She dropped the magazine and reloaded, smirking as Bucky replied, "Not for sale."

"Okay," the raccoon replied. "How much for the arm?"

Katharine followed Bucky off into another hoard of monsters, leaving the talking raccoon to his own devices.

She holstered her gun before reactivating her blasters, using those to take down several aliens that tried to attack them. She grabbed onto Bucky's arm as the battlefield shook, Katharine watching in fear as giant spiked wheels came shredding through the forest.

"Fall back!" she heard T'Challa call over the comms. "Fall back now!"

She stumbled back, grabbing Bucky as she moved them out of harm's way. A red power came down over the wheels, stopping them in their path. She watched as Wanda pushed them aside with her power, grinning as they fell to their sides.

She flexed her palms, falling back into the routine of shooting the aliens in the face. She moved backward as Sam called, "Guys, we got a Vision situation here."

Off in the distance, she saw Vision fall out of the lab, grappling with Corvus Glaive.

"Somebody get to Vision!" Steve ordered.

There were several responses, Bruce trying to beeline for the android while Wanda also tried. Katharine watched as she got knocked into a ditch by Proxima Midnight.

She met up with Natasha, both women greeting each other with a smile before dropping in behind the alien.

"He'll die alone," Proxima taunted. "As will you."

Natasha smirked. "She's not alone."

Katharine smirked as well, flexing her hands so the blasters would power back up. She watched as Okoye dropped into the ditch on the other side, brandishing her spear and nodding at both women.

With a battle cry, Natasha and Katharine launched into battle together. They fought as they had their whole lives, working around each other like an intricate dance. With the addition of Okoye, they became a dangerous whirlwind of destruction.

Katharine grabbed a canister the size of a pill bottle off her hip, deploying the staff she had on her person for long-distance fighting. She whacked the alien woman around, Okoye and Natasha doing the same. They didn't let her have a reprieve, allowing Wanda to recover.

A giant spiked wheel rolled overhead, causing the four of them to duck. Katharine threw an arm over her head as rocks fell on them, scrambling back to standing as Proxima kicked Natasha in the face and threw Okoye to the side. The alien woman approached Katharine, but before she could, she ordered, "On your knees!"

Proxima was forced to her knees, allowing Katharine to make her way over to Natasha and help her up. The Black Widow waved her off, telling her to help Okoye.

Proxima struggled against Katharine's will, raising her arms to protect herself as Natasha raised hell on her. Katharine pulled Okoye away as Proxima broke free of her verbal restraints, raising her sword against Natasha.

She watched as Wanda lifted Proxima back with her powers, throwing her into an incoming wheel of spikes. Blue blood splattered onto Natasha as the alien woman died, Katharine helping Okoye to a standing position.

"That was really gross," Natasha complained, making a face. Katharine let out a breathless laugh, collapsing her staff and replacing it on her belt. Wanda flew off to Vision's location, the three remaining women making their way out of the ditch.

Katharine found herself once again at Bucky's side, taking down several aliens that were in mid-jump at the super-soldier. She wiped her cheek, feeling something dripping down. She made a face when she drew back, revealing the blue blood that most likely decorated her face.

"What?" Bucky asked, looking at the blue liquid. "You make a smoothie or something?"

Katharine tried her best not to put a bullet through her friend's brain for that comment.

"Nope," she replied, wiping the blood on his sleeve. "Big alien woman got shredded and sprayed all over."

The comms crackled back to life. "Everyone, on my position," Steve ordered. "We have incoming."

Katharine deactivated her blasters before pulling her gun out, taking off in a run with Bucky only a few steps ahead.

When they arrived, Bucky ran in firing, Katharine doing the same. It was useless, however, both of them getting blown back by a jet of purple energy. Katharine grunted as she landed on the forest floor, groaning as her back exploded in pain.

Bucky offered her a hand up which she gladly took. She winced as she drew up to her full height, trying to ignore all the pain emanating from her being.

"You good?" Bucky asked, making sure she could stand on her own two feet. Katharine holstered her weapon, tapping the backs of her metal bracelets and listening for the firing up sound. Thank God they were still operational.

"I'm fine," she managed as the Earth shook around them. She grabbed onto Bucky's arm for stability as she watched Thor send his ax through Thanos's chest from the sky. She almost cheered, realizing exactly what was happening when the purple colossus raised his hand.

She swore time stopped when he snapped, her heart sinking as he disappeared backward in what looked like a wormhole. Katharine sunk to her knees as she grew weaker, raising a hand to her face as she seemed to deteriorate right before her eyes.

"No," Bucky gasped as she literally fell through his hands. The last thing she saw was him, his lips moving but no sound coming through. She looked at his eyes last as they seemed to beg for her to stay. As if she had a choice.

The last thought on her mind was of Spencer. It looked like she was going to have to break her promise to him, her promise that she'd always return to his side.

She felt a tear roll down her cheek before she disappeared into the wind.