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Chapter Text

Steve stood at the edge of the cliff, and looked over the desolate wasteland that was Vormir. He glanced behind him, at the robed figure. The Red Skull, his former enemy. The man that was standing there now was but a shadow of the pridefull man he once was. How did the man become like this? he wondered. How had he been doomed to this fate? Steve supposed it didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered now was bringing the stone back to where it came from, and maybe, just maybe, it would bring Natasha back in return. Maybe she was truly gone, past the point of no return, but he had to try. He owed that to her, to Clint, to Bruce, to everyone.
After this, his job would be done. He would head to the woman he loved, live out his life. But before he could do that, he needed to finish this. He held his hand with the stone over the edge, and dropped it without hesistation. The stone hit the ground, and for a moment everything was quiet. Then, the sky turned orange, and the ground seemed to erupt into flames. Some of those flames climbed up, and came closer and closer. Steve tried to keep his ground, but every cell in his body screamed at him to flee, a command he ultimately obeyed. With a slight twinge of regret, he pressed the button on his time-gps, and disappeared. Maybe it had worked. He prayed it had. But if so, Nat would have to fend for herself.

"Wait! No! Steve! Come back!" Natasa screamed as the fire carried her up the cliff and she saw her dear friend vanish. "Come back! Please! Please..." she begged. She dropped on her knees and felt her nerves had started working again when she felt an excruciating pain throughout her body. She looked at her arms, and saw that they were heavily burned. Probably a side effect of her escape, she thought. She looked around her and it slowly dawned upon her: She was back. Steve had brought her back, somehow. That should also mean... "The war is over. We won."
"Who won? Thanos? The others? Who?" someone asked behind her. Natasha turned around and looked at the green woman she had taken along on her escape, who was also suffering multiple burns.
She'd heard about Gamora from Rocket, before... When she had arrived in the empty void that was the soul realm, Gamora was the only other person she had seen. She hadn't really had time to think it over. Merely seconds after she had arrived the sky became a drain and sucked Nat back out. She'd grabbed Gamora's wrist on instinct, pulling her up along, and it had worked. It did mean that Gamora, from her point of view, had been kidnapped by a strange woman. Natasha decided to answer her original question first, then try to explain everything else.
She started: "Well, most likely Thanos lost, since I'm back, and I saw Steve bring me back. He would probably be dead if Thanos had won. That probably means your 'others' have won too."
Gamora nodded: "Alright..." Suddenly she pinned Natasha against a rock and demanded: "Now, you will tell me who you are and what the fuck just happened!" She grasped at her thigh, then realised there was no weapon there.
Natasha raised her hand and pushed her away, trying to calm the woman down: "Relax, I'm not your enemy. My name is Natasha Romanoff. I'm a friend of Rocket. Thor too, I'm not sure if you know him? And Nebula! I know her too. I also fought against Thanos, and then... I died- killed myself- in order to get the soulstone, to get everyone back from the dead. Now I'm back to life, because Steve returned the stone, and I took you along, because, well... I recognised you, from Rocket's stories, and I thought you needed to get away from that place. Now we're on Vormir, and I guess that's it."
Gamora blinked in confusion. "You... know my sister? Rocket too? How about Peter? And Drax, and Mantis, and Groot, and..."
"Calm down. I don't know them, I'm sorry. I'll explain why. But... you might want to sit down."
"I can handle myself. Tell me what is going on."
Natasha nodded, took a deep breath, and started talking.

"So... you're not sure if Drax and... and Quill and everyone are back." Gamora said.
"No, I'm not. I'm sorry. But I'm pretty sure they are. I mean, Steve would not bring the stone back if the plan hadn't worked, I think." Natasha answered. Gamora nodded, visibly upset. Apparently, the idea of her teammates death had taken her by surprise, and the idea they might still be dead filled her with dread. It was sad to see, but unfortunately they didn't have time for grief right now. They needed to get going.
"Listen. We don't know if they're dead. What we do know, is that we are most likely in the wrong timeline. We both want to get back to our friends, our family. But in order to do that, we need some kind of magic or a time gps, and unfortunately I don't have the knowledge or the skills to make that nor do I have magic. So, we need to find a wizard, or a portal, or anything else which could point us in the right direction."
Gamora nodded at this. "You're right. I... I'm sorry, knowing my family might be dead is not exactly my idea of fun. But you're right. We need to get back. So, what do we do?"
Natasha shook her head. "I wish I knew. The best way to start is probably by asking the guardian. But I have no idea where he is..."
"You mean the man with the red skin? The creepy one?"
"Yeah, that's exactly who I mean. Where'd he go?" Natasha mumbled.

"It is not nice to call someone 'creepy', fraulein." a deep voice suddenly said. Gamora tried to reach for her missing blade again, while Natasha took out a gun and aimed. "Do not fear, Natasha. You know I won't harm you. I am merely surprised. I had not expected to see you return, especially not with another visitor."
"Yes, this you would not have seen her before. She was a sacrifice for the stone from my original timeline." Natasha replied. She continued with a question: "While we're talking about our original timeline, we would like to get back there. Problem is, we need a portal or magic or technology for that. You probably don't have something like that lying around, do you?"
The guardian seemed to contemplate his response for a while, but eventually answered: "As it happens, I do."
Natasha blinked, surprised: "What? Really?"
"Yes. When I was sent here by the spacestone, it left something behind, a way back. I could not use it, but you might be able to.However, I want something in return."
"What would that be?"
"I want you to take me along. I have been living here, oppressed by the Soulstone long enough. I want to leave. If you promise to take me with you, bring me to Earth, if you give me that guarantee, I shall take you to the portal and show you how to use it."
Natasha scoffed: "I'm not an idiot. If we take you, something will come after us to make sure you stay. No. We'll look for another way."
"You will not find one."
"We'll try."
Red Skull growled: "Don't be stupid, girl. You need that way out. Besides, you already have pursuers. If I come with you, we will merely share our enemy, you will not gain any new ones."
Gamora's eyes widened: "Wait. What do you mean? No one is after us... Right?"
She turned to Natasha, who nodded: "As far as I know..."
Red Skull erupted in laughter: "You really are a naive little girl! Two souls escaped the soul realm, in exchange for one! She is not going to allow that. Her wraiths are already coming for you. They will come after me too, if I leave. Taking me won't change anything for your safety, except for the fact that you will get away from this wasteland. Take me along. I know Her, the soulstone. I know how she thinks. I will only be an advantage to you on your escape. Trust me."

Natasha cast a suspicious look at him and pulled Gamora aside: "Okay, what do we do? He's probably lying. We can't trust him, but we do need to get away from here."
"I'm not sure he was lying..."
"Why? It sounds a bit strange, unbelievable even. Wraiths? I think he's just desperate to get away."
"That goes without doubt, but... I spent a lot of time in the soulrealm, and I know the Soulstone is sentient. Why do you think she requires sacrifice? I'm not completely sure, but I think I also saw those wraiths sometimes. I think he's desperate, yeah, but not lying."
Natasha took a deep breath: "I don't know, but you have been in the soulrealm a long time. I don't trust him, but I do trust you. Let's take the offer then, if we're doomed anyway. It's our best shot." They walked back to where the guardian still stood.
"Have you made up your mind?" he asked them.
"We have. Here's how it's gonna go: you're going to show us the way out. We're taking you along, but when we're in our universe, you aren't going to do anything stupid. No reviving Hydra, no nazicism. No trying to use us for your own gain. We're taking you with us to earth, and after that, you're on your own. Everyone for themselves. Deal?"
He grinned. "It is a deal, miss Romanoff. Shall we go then?"
"Lead the way."

They arrived at what looked like a well, but when Gamora looked inside, there was only some black goo inside. It was deep though, she could tell that. "Anyone die inside of here?" she asked. Natasha chuckled, and Gamora turned to the guardian, asking: "Are you sure this is it? You'd better not be lying about this."
Red Skull grinned: "I assure you fraulein, this truly is your way out. It is disgusting, yes, but it was a creation of the infinity stones. Whatever those stones create is either dead or dark. It is the way, as far as I know. As I said, these are the remnants of the portal that brought me here. It should bring us back, with the right offering..."
"Wait, what are you implying? Last time something demanded an offering, I ended up dead. I don't really feel like doing that again." Natasha said. "What kind of offering are you talking about?"
"Blood. Not death, but blood, and a lot of it. Someone needs to bleed into this well, and then we shall be transported."
She looked suspiciously: "How will it know where we want to go?"
"The one giving their blood must specify their destination while offering their blood. That is the only way. Now, which one of you shall bleed?"
"Excuse me? Why don't you give yours?"
"As I said, miss Romanoff, we need blood. Mine is already contaminated thanks to the Soulstone. It won't work. One of you must bleed." He looked at the two women, as if waiting for one of them to step forward. It was silent for a while, until:

"I'll do it." Gamora said.
"Are you sure? I mean, we don't know how much blood it will want." Natasha countered.
"You all suffered because I wasn't strong enough to escape Thanos. I could at least bring us back. Let me do this."
Natasha sighed, then nodded: "Okay then. You know where to take us?"
"2023, at least. Where to?"
"Take us to New York. We'll be able to get to our friends pretty soon from there."
"Got it." Gamora said while she walked toward the well. "Does either of you have a knife?" she asked.
"Here you go." Natasha pulled a knife from her boot and handed it over.
"Allright then. Here goes nothing."
Natasha grabbed the guardian's shoulder and Gamora's. Gamora stuck her arm out over the well, and cut her wrist. Blood dripped down into the goo, and melted with it. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Nat flew around in a rage. "You said this would work, you piece of..." She was silenced by a blinding light erupting from the well, eveloping them all. Natasha forced her eyelids shut in an effort to protect her eyes. She felt a slight breeze as the light faded. She opened her eyes, and saw a sprawling city around her. Except... This wasn't the New York she had been trying to get back to.

Blue, pointy eared weasels who walked on two legs seemed to be the inhabitants of the city they were in. Was it even a city? The buildings looked like some sort of green spheres stacked on top of each other in a way that shouldn't even be possible according to the laws of physics she knew.
"Where the hell did you take us?" she asked Gamora.
"To New Yourk. That's what you told me to do, isn't it?" Gamora replied.
"I meant Earth's New York, not this... What planet are we even on?" Natasha yelled.
"Wait. Earth has a New Yourk?" Gamora asked, confused.
"That's not the main point here! Where the fuck are we?"
"On the planet Chilaria, in its capital: New Yourk. But if this isn't what you meant, then... How do we get back?"
"I... I don't know," Natasha said, putting her hands to her head. "I don't know."

Chapter Text

Natasha glanced at her cup. She had no idea if the liquid inside really was water, but whatever. She was thirsty as hell. The bar they were in was dirty and smelled of pee, but it wasn't that bad. If it weren't for the blue weasels sitting in there, she could almost imagine she was on earth.
Earth... Gamora had insisted they came here, convinced that they would find someone there who had a spaceship to fly them home. Despite the arguments of her companions -they did not have any money and they had no idea how to fly something like that- she had dragged them into the shithole that was this bar.
Right now Gamora and Red Skull were talking to some green variant of the race that inhabited this planet. Gamora was gesturing wildly while Red stared at the creature. Natasha sighed. Apparently she had been right. No one would help them without pay.

Finally Gamora and Skull stomped away from the creature and slumped down at her table. "That was a waste of time." Gamora sighed.
Natasha raised her brow. "That bad, huh? I don't wanna say 'I told you so', but..." The green-skinned woman glared at her in response.
"We do know where his ship is now. We should just take it from him." Red said.
"Whoa, calm down mister nazi! Let's not do that. If we do that, we'll be even farther from home."
"Then what do you propose, miss Romanoff? Hope for some good samaritan who will give us his spaceship out of the kindness of his heart? Try to find some flying pigs to carry us home? Pray tell, what do you propose to get us home?"
"I don't know, but I'd rather try to think of something from here than from the confines of a cell!" Natasha yelled.
"Okay, you two. Calm down. Seriously. Yelling isn't going to get us anywhere!" Gamora said, sending a warning glare to them.
"I'm sorry." Natasha said. "I want to get home as much as you two do, but right now we won't be able to pull off an act of grand theft spaceship. If I thought we could, I'd be the first to suggest it. But we don't know the area, the people, how freaking starships even work! We need a captain. Only problem is, we don't know where to find one who will get us home without pay."
"If we could pay after we get back, there's no problem. However, we don't look like we have money, no matter where we want to go. I don't think anyone will trust us to actually pay our due when we need to. I think..."
Her sentence was cut short by the slam of the bar's door. A couple of men had entered. Well, men was probably not the right word. These people had yellow skin and... Natasha didn't actually know what they were, but their arms had some kind of fins on their sides. They weren't native to this planet, that was for sure. She looked back at her companions, and noticed a look of recognition in Gamora's eyes.
"You know these guys?" Natasha asked.
"Well, not personally. I have travelled with these kinds of people before. It's a caravan of Linarians, travelling merchants."
"So we are dealing with gypsies. Wonderful." Red Skull grumbled.
Natasha shot an angry glare at him, then asked Gamora: "Is that good news or bad?"
"Well... neither, actually. I'm just thinking we might be able to hitch a ride with them. I'm not sure though. Let me go talk to them."
With that, she raised from her chair and headed to the caravan.

Natasha told Red Skull to stay put, then walked out of the bar for a bit of fresh air, and to maybe find the port for spaceships. She didn't have much faith in Gamora's caravan. Chances were, they would also demand payment. Maybe she could get in and try to locate an easily driveable ship.
After a walk around the lively center of town, she finally found the warehouse for spacecrafts. The entrance seemed unguarded, but Natasha noticed cameras above the doors. The runway was gated with walls. It didn't really seem like she would be able to get in unnoticed. But, she wasn't the Black Widow for nothing. She'd find a way.
While she walked around the walls, she noticed someone shadowing her. She walked on for a bit, dove into an alleyway. She hid behind a crate, and watched as a blue-skinned weasel entered the alley, looked around and turned back. That's when Natasha shot into action, tackling him, or her. She had not yet figured out how to see what gender the Chilarians were.
The alien babbled in a language she didn't understand. Of course he didn't speak English. She decided to take him back to the bar, hoping Gamora would be able to talk to him.

To her surprise, she got back without any trouble. With her prisoner struggling and yelling at her in words she didn't understand and people looking at her like she was crazy, she was pretty afraid some kind of law enforcers would come after her. But, she managed to find her companions who immediately looked at her like she was crazy.
"Natasha, what the hell? Why did you chain one of the Chilarians?" Gamora yelled.
"This little asshole was following me! I don't know why! I just decided to catch him, interrogate him and be done with it. Problem is, he doesn't speak my language. Literally. He's been babbling the entire time, and I can't understand a fucking word he's saying."
"Ahhh, right. You don't have a translator." Gamora said.
"A what?"
"Translator. It knows nearly any language, and translates immediately. You didn't think I spoke your language, did you?"
Natasha bit her lips, and silently cursed herself for not realising it earlier. Of course there was a fucking translator.

Gamora silently laughed at Natasha's dismay, but scolded herself for not taking care of this earlier. Whatever. They did not have the money to get translators for the other two anyway.
"I'll talk to him." she said, and switched her translator to Chilarian.
"{I'm really sorry for my companion's behavior. She doesn't have a translator, so she can't understand you.}"
The Chilarian growled: "{She has no manners! Tell her to release me!}"
"{I won't, for a simple reason: she tells me you were following her. Why?"
A hint of fear started to show in his eyes: "{I was not! I...}"
"{Don't lie to me. I can smell one at a mile's distance.}"
"{The world must stink from your perspective then.}" he grinned. She raised her brow at him, and he sighed in response. "{All right, all right. Yes, I was following her. I saw her checking out the security at the spacecraft warehouse, and wanted to see if she knew how to get in. I also need a spaceship. I was hoping to join her.}"
"What's he saying?" Natasha asked.
Gamora shook her head, and told the Chilarian: "{Do you have any idea how to get in? Or do you maybe know how to fly one of those things?}"
"{I'm no good at breaking and entering, lady. I do, however, know how to fly a ship. Am I sensing a proposition?}"
"{You might. What's your name?}"
"{Killir.}"
"{Well, Killir, this is my offer: we steal a ship. You bring us to Earth, and after that you're free to do whatever you like. What do you say?}"
"{I say you're probably my best chance to get off this planet. Let's do it.}" he grinned.
Gamora smiled, and switched her translator back to English.
"So? What did he say?" Natasha asked impatiently. Red Skull also leaned forward, interested in what she had to say.
Gamora grinned at her companions: "My friends, I have just found us a captain."

They headed out of the bar, Killir walking to the center of town to get himself a translator to make communication easier. Natasha suddenly remembered Gamora was trying to get passage through other means too, and asked her: "Hey, what happened with those Lino... Linirans?"
"Linarians. Yeah, I talked to them, but they weren't heading to Earth, they said. Besides, it didn't really seem like they would take us along even if they were going there. They needed money, so I doubt they would have taken along some not paying passengers, even if they would get paid afterwards." Gamora responded.
"Shame. Nothing useful then?"
"I wouldn't say that..." Gamora responded.
"They have confirmed Thanos is dead, and that Earth and its heroes are to thank for that." Red Skull said, a bit of sarcasm sounding through in his voice.
"So, that's one thing less to worry about. Now we only need to get back." Gamora smiled wryly.
"We'll be fine. We've got a captain!" Natasha said.
"And we need to break into the spaceport before we ever get off this planet." Gamora reminded her.
"We will do that. We need to, fraulein. If you want to get home..."
"Alternately, if we want to get rid of him..." Natasha said, grinning. She saw Red Skull's angry glare, and hastily continued: "Kidding, kidding! We should go check out the spaceport. Killir would meet us at the bar tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. Alright. Let's go do this. Natasha, you knew where it was, right?" Gamora said.
Natasha nodded. "Let''s go rob a spaceport!"
Red and Gamora immediately shushed her. "We're not stealing a ship today!"
Natasha rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Tomorrow." she grinned. Before the others could reply, she started walking, and they were forced to follow her.

Meanwhile, a computer in a spaceship exiting Earth's orbit combed through data from all parts of the galaxy. When the spaceship passed Neptune, it got around to looking through the footage from the systems on the edges of the galaxy. Suddenly, it emitted a loud "Ding!".
"Quill! Your algorith made a sound. Might want to check that." Rocket said.
"What?" Starlord stormed into the cockpit of the ship, grabbing the keypad and looking at the footage the screen showed him. "Gamora..." he whispered to himself. He turned around to grab the raccoon's arm. "Rocket, we've found her!" he yelled enthousiastically.
"Quill, calm down. What the hell are you saying?" Rocket said, throwing a glace at Groot with his brows raised.
"I am Groot." was the tree's reply.
"Gamora. I set an algorithm to track her, to try to find her. It just notified me of someone looking like her, and see? It looks just like her! This has to be her!"
Nebula walked in, saying: "Quill, calm down. You're shouting like the world's ending. What's going on?"
"He found Gamora, apparently." Rocket replied.
"You found my sister?"
"I think I did. Rocket, can you plot a course to this planet?" Quill said.
"Sure." Rocket turned around and entered coördinates into the control panel.
Quill looked out of the window, in the direction he suspected the place was.
"We're coming, Gamora." he whispered. "We're coming."

Chapter Text

It wasn't long before they reached the entrance to the port. Two large doors separated Gamora, Natasha and Red Skull from their return home. Natasha nodded towards them: "There are cameras hanging all around the entrance. There's no guards out here, but there probably are some inside. To get in, you need a card to open the door, I'm not sure how you get it. All around the port and its runway are walls, high ones. We could get in through there. It's probably easier to get a card from somewhere though."
"So, what's your plan then?" Gamora asked.
Natasha raised her eyebrows: "You guys want me to take the lead on this? You probably know more about this place and the way they keep things secure than me, I mean..."
Gamora shook her head. "Last time I was here was years ago, I barely remember anything. Anyway, I was just asking what your plan was. I thought, from your tone, that you already had one."
"It's probably best to try and find out some more first. My investigation was cut short by Killjoy."
Red Skull snickered: "You really do not like the man, do you?"
"No, for some reason I don't like it when people are following me. Anyway, I think we should split up. Gamora, you try to map out all the camera's and choose a point from where we can get in if we decide to jump the walls. Red, you keep track of everyone entering and leaving the port, try and find out who has those cards. I'll go back to the bar, try and talk to those Linarians. Maybe they will help us get in or something. You said they were good people, right Gamora?"
"Yeah, but I don't think they'd want to be an accomplice in spaceship theft."
"If not, then I'll at least try and find out what happened while we were away. We need to know what we can expect out there."
Gamora nodded, furrowed her brows: "One thing. How are you going to talk to them without a translator? They don't speak your language, you know."
"Shit. I hadn't thought of that. Can I maybe borrow yours?"
"And leave me mute? Doesn't sound like a good plan to me. Why don't we switch roles? I'll talk to the Linarians, and you go scout the area." Natasha sighed in response. "Or is there a reason you gave yourself this task?" Gamora continued.
"Fine, you got me. I was hoping to get some info about the fate of my friends. Bruce, Clint, Tony... I want to know if they're alright." Natasha said begrudgingly.
"I get it. Me too. Listen, if you give me their names, I'll make sure to ask them about it, allright?"
"Sure. I'm just... If you ask about the Avengers, and specifically Bruce Banner,Clint Barton and Steve Rogers..."
"I will." Gamora promised.
"If you ladies are done, may I propose we meet again at nightfall back at the bar?" Red Skull asked.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go! See you tonight." Gamora said as she turned around. Red Skull also left and headed toward the entrance. Natasha was left alone, and fought back the tears that were surfacing at the thought of her friends, her family. She shook her head firmly. She had no time for this right now. She needed to find another entrance point. She rubbed her eyes, and walked away.

I wonder where they are? Gamora thought as she walked back to the bar. Last time she saw her friends was at Knowhere, when she was captured by Thanos. Were they still alive? And Peter... If she knew him, he would be searching for her, doing everything he could to bring her back. Would he be able to find her? Would she be able to find him? Her heart sunk at the thought of him, dead. "Please, Peter. Please be alive." she pleaded softly to the sky.
She looked in front of her, at the entrance to the bar. She pushed her fears away as she entered. Maybe she wouldn't see him again. But she would do her damnest to get back. She headed straight toward the table where the Linarians sat. "{Hello}." she said.
"{Hello, miss Gamora. I thought we had already told you we were not headed to Earth.}" their leader said.
"{I know. I have some other questions and another request.}"
The leader leaned forward over the table and crossed his arms. "{We are listening}".

Red Skull sat on some sort of bench, overlooking the marketplace in front of the port. He perked up when he saw someone walk toward the entrance, until he saw that that person was not heading in, just passing by. He groaned. He had been sitting there for hours, but only two people had passed through those doors. A Linarian and one person of the indigenous race of this planet. Well. At least they were now certain those Linarians had a card for the gate.
Suddenly, he felt a chill. He swore that he saw some orange shade at the edge of his field of vision. When he looked, there was nothing there. He shuddered. It must have been his imagination.
He looked up at the sky, and saw the sun going down. Enough spying. Let's see what the others had to mention.

Natasha stumbled into the bar, exhausted. Her body had finally realised she had gone at least a day without sleep, and although she was trained to be able to last longer, she really longed for a bed. She saw her companions, and slumped down in one of the chairs around their table. "Alright. Anyone want to go first?"
"Müde, Fraulein?"
She shot a glare at Red Skull for that comment. "Yes, I am tired, Skull. I want this over with, and a good night of sleep." She shook herself awake, and continued: "I'll go first then, if you won't. I really don't think using the walls is a good idea, but I have found a place where, theoretically, we could cross it. How about you?"
"Two people passed through. One Linarian, and another from this planet." Red Skull said. For a moment, he contemplated telling them about the shadow, but he decided against it. Most likely, it was his paranoia. "They both had cards, and I can identify them when I see them. Is that enough?"
Natasha nodded. "What about you, Gamora? Learned anything?"
Gamora sighed. "They won't give us their keycard. About the other parts: about a month ago, the Avengers defeated Thanos." She noticed Natasha's eyes widening, but before the redhead could say anything, she continued: "This was the Thanos from another world apparently. Him and his army were dusted by a man named Tony Stark. Shortly before this, all of the dusted people were brought back. Almost everyone is fine, except..."
"Who? Who didn't make it?" Natasha demanded.
"Tony Stark... I'm sorry. He was killed by the usage of the gauntlet."
"What? Tony... Dead? Buh... But... How about everyone else?" Natasha asked, tears welling up as she tried to keep her breathing steady.
"Everyone else is alive. Steve Rogers has disappeared from this world, but apparently the Avengers aren't mourning him so he is probably alright. Clint Barton and Bruce Banner have also survived, although Banner apparently can't use one of his arms much anymore since he was the one who used the gauntlet to bring everyone back." Gamora put her hand on Natasha's shoulder. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?"
Natasha shook her head. "At least the others are alive. I... I'm sorry. I need to go lie down for a bit. Can we discuss our plan of attack tomorrow? I just... I need some time to think."
Gamora nodded. "Sure. Take your time... Well... Just..." She took a breath. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
"I do. Thanks." She raised from her chair and headed up, to the room they had managed to rent from the barkeep.
When she reached the stairs, she was unable to hold in her tears. She screamed out of grief. Tony Stark. Dead. Killed to save everyone else. Sure, she had done the same, but that did not lessen her pain. After all, she was alive again. She stumbled into the room, crashed down on the bed and cried. She cried until she fell asleep, mourning the strongest avenger she knew.

"Here we are." Peter Quill said as the ship hovered over the planet.
"Gamora is down there?" Nebula asked, scepticism in her voice.
"That's what the computer says. Come on, let's land. We'll know for sure then." he responded.
"Landing right now Quill." Rocket said.
They watched as the ship descended onto the planet's surface.
"So, your girl is down there, right Starboy?" Thor asked.
"That is kind of what I just said, yeah." Peter responded, irritated.
"All right, alright. Just wanted to make sure." the god said, shrugging.
They landed on a field just outside of where the city was supposed to be. As they walked out, Nebula grabbed Quill's shoulder and pointed. "Quill. Look."
He turned his head to the direction her finger was in, and gasped in horror. The entire city was in ruins. He heard cries of people begging for help, and noticed others trying to push a column off someone. "No." he whispered. "No!" He yelled as he started running into the smoking wreckages of roofs, walls and metal. The others ran after him, yelling things at him but he couldn't hear them. As he ran, he noticed flashes of orange from the corners of his eye, but he payed them no heed. He needed to find Gamora

They searched around, yelling Gamora's name, asking people if they had seen her, running toward every glimpse of green they saw. Finally, they met again at a broken fountain where they had split up initially. "No one's seen her." Nebula said.
Peter looked around pleading at his friends, at Drax, at Mantis, Rocket, everyone. All shook their heads in response. "Shit!" he yelled, kicking the fountain in anger and desperation which quickly turned to pain when he felt the damage the stone had done to his toe.
As he cursed even harder, everyone failed to notice the person stumbling toward them. It was Mantis who first turned and saw her. "Gamora." she said.
Everyone went silent and looked at the green woman dragging herself toward them. Peter slowly took a step, then faster until he ran. Before he arrived, she collapsed facedown into the ground. Orange shards were sticking out of her back. Nebula screamed and ran even faster than Quill had to help her sister. "Gamora! What... No!" she yelled.
Quill gently lifted Gamora from the ground. "She needs a doctor!" he said, looking at everyone around him, urging them to do something. "Go fucking get someone! Now! She needs help!" He looked at Gamora, who lay in his arms unconciously. "It'll be okay, Gamora. We'll make sure someone heals you."
"Get her to the ship. We can at least stabilize her there while we get a doctor." Rocket said.
Quil nodded. "I will. You guys find someone!" he yelled as he started moving toward the ship as fast as he could. Nebula headed after him, while the rest spread out once again.
"Please, don't leave. Stay. Don't leave again." Quill pleaded.
"It's going to be okay, Quill. Right now, we just need to get her to the ship." Nebula said. Quill nodded in response. Together, they ran at the speed of light.

A woman with orange skin in a black suit looked at the screen in front of her, showing her the inside of a ship in turmoil, with a green woman on a table as her friends tried to save her. Behind her, a few orange shades waited for her response. Finally, she turned around and said: "You have done well. Now find the other two. Find them. That will make our mistress most pleased." The shades dissappeared one by one. The woman turned her attention back to the screen. She grinned. "Check."

Chapter Text

Gamora knocked at the door. "Natasha? Are you awake? Can I... Can I come in?" There was no response. "Natasha?" she asked again. Still no response. She sighed. "It's already day. Killir is here. We need to discuss our strategy." When everything remained silent, she pushed the door open just an inch. "I'm coming in."
Natasha was lying on the bed, her face buried in a makeshift pillow. Gamora slowly walked toward her, and sat down next to her. "Natasha?" The redhaired woman raised her head and looked at her. Her eyes were red from tears, and she looked pale. She must have cried all night, Gamora thought to herself. "How are you feeling?"
"Like crap." Natasha responded with a hoarse voice.
"I can see that." Gamora said. She immediately bit her lip, and continued: "Didn't sleep well, huh?"
"Once more, like crap." Natasha said as she sat up. Her braid had come loose, which made her look even more tired. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said: "Hearing that Tony was dead was not exactly good for my ability to sleep."
"I get that." Gamora said.
Natasha scoffed. "Yeah, but you just... continued after you heard your friends might be dead. You didn't collapse."
"'Might' is the key word here. Besides, you know I was real shaken up after that news. That wasn't what I was talking about however." Natasha frowned, and implored her to continue. "Of course, you don't know, but... Thanos murdered my parents. I was forced to live as the adopted daughter of the man who was responsible for the massacre of my planet."
Natasha blinked. "Shit, that's... I had no idea. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. As you say, you didn't know." Gamora looked at her as she lowered her head. "Do you want to talk about it? It might help, I don't know."
"Didn't we need to talk with Red and Killir about our big heist?" Natasha asked.
"They'll wait for a bit. I mean, we also need you to be in good shape. So, you want to talk about it?"

Natasha sighed, and said: "It's just... I should be used to this, you know? People leaving, people dying... For a long time, that was all I knew. But now..."
"Now you had people you really cared about, who were strong." Gamora finished her sentence.
"Yeah. Tony was... I don't know, for some reason I never thought he really could die. He just seemed immortal, you know? I know it sounds naive, but you would understand if you had known him. He never seemed to have time to die." Natasha said, chuckling softly.
"It doesn't sound naive to me. Some people just are like that. Makes it even more difficult when they do die."
"It does. It really does. But I shouldn't mourn him right now. I should be glad that Bruce... That everyone else is alive." Natasha raised from the bed and searched for her hair tie. When she found it, she braided her hair again, as she spoke: "We should head down. Thank you for listening... for forcing me to talk about it."
"You're welcome. Now, let's head down. I'm sure the men are waiting anxiously for us." Gamora smiled.

“They sure are taking their sweet time.” Killir complained.
Red Skull nodded. They had been sitting there for quite some time now. It must have at least been half an hour since Gamora said she was going to get Natasha. “I guess miss Romanoff still has not recovered from the news she got yesterday.”
“What news?” Killir asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.
“A close friend of hers has died, and another one is missing but most likely fine.”
“Aren’t you all upset then? I mean, you guys are friends right? Weren’t they close friends of yours too?” When he saw Red Skull furrow his brow, he hastily continued: “Not that it’s any of my business. Don’t worry about it. We just need the ladies to get here soon. Maybe we can already start our making of plans, and they can join when they finally get here? Anyway, I was thinking...”
Red Skull didn’t hear any of his other words as he sunk deep into thought. How did the alien reach the impression the three of them were friends? They were companions, forced together by their mutual enemy and the deal he and miss Romanoff had agreed upon. He did not dislike them, but no more than that. As soon as they returned, they would go their separate ways and most likely never hear from each other again. Well, perhaps the two girls would. He, however... Where could he go anyway? HYDRA was destroyed, according to Romanoff. Of course he could rebuild it, but he suspected that would take a lot of time and effort, and with an immense amount of Avengers roaming the earth... he was not quite sure it would be worth the risk.
If not to HYDRA, where would he go then? Would there be any place for him after he had been prisoner to the soul stone for so long?
He was rudely awakened from his thoughts by Killir: “Are you listening?”
“No, my apologies. My mind was elsewhere. What were you saying?”
Killir groaned. Suddenly he perked up as he saw two women walking toward them.

“Lady Romanoff! Lady Gamora! It’s great you’re finally here.”
“We’re sorry Killir. Natasha needed a bit of time.” Gamora said.
“Hey. I see you’ve found yourself a translator.” Natasha said.
Killir nodded. “I hope it will prevent angry aliens from kidnapping me again.” he said with a shit-eating grin on his weasel face.
“Ha ha.” Natasha responded with a flat voice. “Shall we talk about how we’re going to get into an impenetrable spaceport?”
“It’s not impenetrable. I’ve seen places that were even harder to get into- or out of, for that matter. I managed it anyway.” Gamora reminded her.
Natasha rolled her eyes and sat down. “Let’s just do this before I decide to head back to bed because of all of you.”

Killir, it turned out, had quite a lot of useful things to say. He had gotten his hands on the schematics of the spaceport and a list of employees, all of whom had a card. When Natasha remarked he seemed to have been planning it a long time, he just shrugged. She didn't push much harder. Not like they would be able to do much without him anyway.
"This one is your best bet to get a card. She's a bit scatterbrained, and has lost it before. No one will pay much heed if she 'loses' it again." Killir said, pointing at one name on the list.
"Sirale Jipu. So that's the one I'm robbing?" Gamora said.
"Wait, you're robbing? No chance, I am." Natasha said. "You've been... out of action for a while. I've been in the middle of the action the entire time. Besides, I'm used to this kind of thing."
"So am I. And because I have been 'out of action' for a while, I need to do this. I won't mess it up. You know I won't." When Natasha still seemed unconvinced, she continued: "Come on... Please? I would love to pickpocket someone. Pickpocketing makes you feel alive, you know?"
Natasha giggled. "You have the same mindset I do. Which is exactly why I'm not just giving this assignment to you. I'm doing this."
Gamora turned to Killir and Red Skull: "What do you guys think? Who should do it?"
The two men shook their heads violently. "No way," Killir said, "I'm not choosing a side. You two fight this out."
"Ugh." Gamora sighed. She looked Natasha in the eye: "Rock-paper-scissors for it?"
Natasha blinked: "Wait, you know that game?"
Gamora rolled her eyes, and said: "Peter used it to settle some disagreements sometimes." She thought back of the one time he had made the mistake of playing against Mantis. He thought she wouldn't be able to use her powers with this... he had been wrong. So very wrong. From then on, Mantis had begged everyone to play it against her when she didn't want to do something. Needless to say, the others never agreed. "I thought it would be a fair way to decide."
"Sure. Let's do this."
"Is there any other way?" Gamora stuck her hand out toward Natasha, who did the same. "Rock paper scissors shoot!"
Natasha cursed colorfully as she saw Gamora had thrown paper against her rock. Gamora grinned. "I guess your insults mean I'm going?"
Natasha groaned. "Dammit. Yes, you're going. Good luck."
Gamora raised from her chair and walked towards the exit, saying: "I'll be back here in a moment."

It didn't take long for Gamora to find her target. On the schedule Killir had given her it said the female's shift had just ended, so all she had to do was head to the spaceport and wait. Jipu did not notice the woman standing in front of the spaceport who headed in the same direction as she did. In a busy street, Gamora walked up to her, then, as she pretended to pass the female, she bumped into her. "{Ouch! Watch it!}" the female yelled.
"{Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching my step. Please, forgive me.}" Gamora said, brushing past Jipu's side and swiping the card.
"{Come on.}" Jipu said as she walked on. After a few metres, she suddenly stopped and felt in her pocket. "{My card is gone! Thief!}" she yelled, pointing in the direction Gamora had gone in.
"Shit." Gamora mumbled as she sped up her step. She lowered her head and tried to disappear in the crowd.
It took a while, but she managed to lose her pursuers and get to the bar safely. Natasha rose from her chair and asked: "So? Did you get it?"
Gamora sighed, and responded: "I did, but... I got caught. We need to move quickly before they manage to do something about it."
"Verdammt! We need to move quickly then! Die beste Verteidigung ist der Angriff jetzt. If we move immediately, they will not be able to stop us. Let us go!" Red Skull said. He immediately acted upon his words too and ran out.
"Goddammit." Natasha said. "Red has spoken. Let's go then." Killir and Gamora followed her as they ran out of the bar, toward the port.

"She still hasn't woken up?" Peter asked.
Mantis shook her head: "No. The doctorman said she would probably survive, but not certainly. Have patience. If she survives, she will wake up."
Peter nodded, his lips pressed together. "Great peptalk Mantis. Thank you." He looked outside, at the destruction still visible around the ship. "Something really fucked this place up good. I wonder what happened."
"Me too. Seeing Gamora like that... Whatever it was, I think it was after her." Nebula said, walking into the room. Looking at Gamora, lying on the bed like she was dead, she spoke: "She still hasn't woken up? It's been over a day..."
"As Mantis just told me, she hasn't, and there is a chance she will never." Peter responded.
"If she dies, I will hunt down and kill anything and everyone responsible for her death." Nebula said, unsheathing her sword to emphasise her point.
"I would gladly help you with that. I think we all would." Peter spoke in a sad voice.
"You two should go. Maybe outside you'll find out something about who did this. I will watch over Gamora. If she wakes up, I will tell you immediately." Mantis said.
"She's probably right. Shall we?" Peter asked. Nebula only nodded in response, and the two left the room.
A few moments later Mantis saw them outside, talking to a man. "They'll avenge you." she said.
Suddenly, someone yelled: "Quill!"
"Peter is outside with Nebula. What's wrong?" Mantis asked as she walked into the control room.
"Look." Rocket said, pointing at the screen. "Look at that. Look what it says."
Mantis pointed her gaze to the screen he was pointing at, and read what it said. She gasped. "It found Gamora? But... That is not possible, is it?"
Rocket, speechless, just stood there, trying to take it in. "She's back. Must be. She's back!" he yelled.
In their euphoria, the two did not notice that in the other room, a green-skinned woman opened her eyes. She looked around and took in her surroundings. Then, she screamed.

Chapter Text

"She's awake? Did she tell you what happened? How she got here?" Quill asked frantically as they headed to the room where they had laid Gamora.
"She is awake, Quill, I said that already. You're really focusing on the wrong thing. Your scanner program picked up another Gamora. You get what that means, right? She's back. Our Gamora. She's back. She escaped from the soulstone!" Rocket said.
"You're sure? This isn't just a lookalike the program picked up? And if she's back, is this woman my sister from this timeline or from the other?" Nebula asked sceptically.
"She's from the other timeline, but... you should just go talk to her. She's told us about her attackers, the ones who did this to her and the planet. If you do that, you'll get why we think our Gamora has escaped." Rocket replied.
Peter and Nebula nodded and walked on, into the room where they found Gamora, sitting upright. "Gamora..." Peter said, smiling as he walked toward her.
Gamora raised her finger and warned: "Try to hug me again, and I'll cut off your arms."
"... Right. I'm sorry. How..." Peter said.
"Never mind that, it's good you're awake. We weren't sure if you ever would be." Nebula interrupted. "Rocket said you had some things to say about your attackers?"
Gamora nodded. "I've been here for a few weeks, and it was all quiet. People didn't really pay attention to me, I don't think they recognised me. Then suddenly everything went to shit. These orange shades, I'm not sure what they were but that's what they looked like, they started killing everyone, but... It was like they were searching. Then one of them found me, and suddenly they all came after me. There were too many to hold off, and one of them stabbed me. They ran off then, and all I heard them say was: "Other two not here. Must be elsewhere." I fled as fast as I could. Then I saw you, and... When I woke up again I was here."

Rocket looked at the others. "That soulstone was orange, right? Other than that, the footage showed two others with Gamora. One of them looked an awful lot like Natasha Romanoff, who died the second time for the soulstone. The other one has red skin which matches the description of that guy that guarded the stone... I think they escaped, and the soulstone, crazy as it sounds, is coming after them, trying to get them back. Gamora was lucky to have survived."
Peter nodded. That sounded about right. The soulstone… “But… aren’t those stones supposed to be objects? Powerful ones, yeah, but just objects. How could it decide to come after them? Why?”
“Maybe it was programmed to.” Nebula guessed.
“No, those stones were not programmed. They are the embodiment of six primal forces, and each thinks and feels for themselves. It is not just an object, it, Quill, is a living being, with a mind of its own. It grants its power to the one holding it but never obeys them. If it is after your friend, it will not stop. It will chase Gamora and Natasha forever if they truly escaped it. We need to take action.” Thor said, a grim tone to his voice.
“Then that’s what we’re going to do. We are going to protect Gamora. She will not be on her own ever again.” Peter declared.
“I am Groot?” Groot asked.
"No, I do not have a plan Groot. All I know is we need to get to them as soon as possible. Rocket, how long will it take for us to get there?"
"About two or three days. She's in New Yourk, Linaria. I'll start up the ship. She coming with us?" Rocket asked, pointing toward Gamora.
"If she wants to." Peter said. He turned to Gamora. "It's probably safer if you come with us, but I get it if you don't want to. Your choice."
"I'll come with you. It’s as you said, I have a better chance of surviving with you guys."
"Alright, good! Let's go then!" Peter said.
Rocket walked toward the cockpit and started the engine. "Taking off in three," Everyone sat down,
"two," put on their seatbelts,
"one!" and held on as they blasted into space, heading for a small planet named Linaria.
Peter looked at the stars, and whispered: “Gamora, what have you gotten yourself into? Please don’t be in trouble.”

"Red, seriously, slow down! We might need a plan of attack? You think about that?" Natasha yelled as she ran after him through the streets of New Yourk. Buildings became flashes as they raced past them. Some Linarians stopped to look at them, wonder in their eyes. They must think we’re crazy, Natasha thought.
"The longer we wait, the more time they have to fortify their defenses. Did you think about that, fraulein?" Red Skull bit back, pushing aside some people in his way as he ran toward the spaceport.
"I... Yes, but we don't have anything to fight with!"
"I have two guns, you have even more and your shockbatons, Killir auch hat ein waffe und Frau Gamora sicher auch. I saw her picking up a sword back in the market."
"I... Fine, but you think that'll be enough? And can you speak in English, please? My German's not what it used to be."
"We must make do, Frau Romanoff. Time is of the essence.” was all he replied as he kept running.
“There’s the spaceport!” Killir shouted, pointing.
Natasha sighed and said: “Alright, let’s do this. Everyone, beware. This is probably not going to go smoothly. If we are forced to use violence, please don’t kill them. They can’t help it that we need to resort to crime to get our lives back.”
“There are guards at the door. They didn’t waste any time.” Gamora said.
“Let’s try to talk our way in first then. Follow my lead.” Natasha said. “Gamora, can I borrow your translator? Just for a second. I need to be able to communicate with them.” Gamora nodded in response and handed her the object. Natasha equipped it and walked up to the door, ignoring the guards as she confidently took out the keycard.
“{I’m sorry miss, I need to see some ID. I need to see if you are indeed someone who has business here.}” One of the guards said.
Natasha looked at him and smiled. “{Oh, of course! Let me try to find it. This is more security than I’m used to. Did something happen?}” she asked as she rummaged through her pack, as if looking for an ID.
“{Yes, something did happen. One of our employees was robbed of her keycard, and only her card. We’re very certain the thieves are targeting the port. You understand why this is necessary.}” he responded, extending his hand.
“{Of course. How terrible.}” Natasha said. She finally took her hand back out of her pack and sighed. “{Oh no. It appears I have forgotten my identification. I’m really sorry about this, but… could you please let me through? We need our wares to make enough for the rent on our rooms.}”

The guards aimed their weapons in response. Natasha took off the translator and threw it toward Gamora. “Well, at least I tried.” she muttered. “Attack!” Gamora immediately flew toward the left guard, pushing his gun away from the others and knocking him out with the hilt of her sword. Red Skull took care of the other one, shooting him in the stomach. The crowd behind them started screaming and running in all kinds of directions.
“I told you Red, no killing!” Natasha yelled at him as she held the card against the scanner.
“How else would I have neutralized the threat, frau Romanoff? I do not have nicht letal weapons at my disposal.” was Red Skull’s response. They ran through the doors as they opened and ran through.
“Shit.” was all Gamora said as they saw at least twenty people looking at them with surprise and fear.
“Run!” Natasha said, and she gave the right example by speeding through the mass herself. “Killir, you know which ship we’re after?”
“I do.”
“Then you lead. Gamora, Red, we’re taking care of any guard or hero who stands in our way. Without killing.” she said, the last words directed at Red Skull, who rolled his eyes in response.
The crowd did not resist them, fortunately, but the ones guarding the door toward the runways did. Natasha barely managed to avoid the first shot, but had found cover by the second. She looked Gamora in the eye, jerked her head toward the two guards on the left side. Then she did the same with Red Skull, only toward the right side. She stuck three fingers up, and silently counted down to one, go. As one they emerged from the crates they had hidden behind and ran towards each of their targets.

Before long, the guards by the gates were subdued as well. Gamora opened the gates with the emergency override, and they ran through to the runways.
“Over there! That’s the one we want!” Killir shouted as he pointed at a spaceship in the opposite corner.
“Of course,” Natasha muttered, ” we’re taking the spaceship that’s the farthest away from the entrance.” They ran towards it, when suddenly they heard people yelling behind them. Natasha heard a loud noise and saw Gamora fall down. “Shit!” Natasha yelled and she ran toward her. “Come on, get up! We’re almost there! Red, try to keep them from shooting us!”
Meanwhile, Killir had arrived at ‘their’ ship. He opened the doors and signaled the rest to come in. Red Skull arrived, but stayed outside, drawing the fire away from Natasha and Gamora. With effort, the two women got on board of the ship. Red Skull finally headed inside as well. “Killir! Go!” Natasha yelled. The doors closed and Natasha felt the ship take off. She laid Gamora on a bench and sat herself down on the ground in relief. They made it.

“We’ve got incoming!” Killir screamed at them.
Natasha groaned and got up. “Red, try to bandage Gamora. I’ll see if I can help Killir hold them off.” Red Skull nodded and helped Gamora up. Natasha walked into the cockpit. “Killir, what can I do to help?”
“Go sit at the controls. I’ll try to evade their fire, you shoot back!”
Natasha nodded and sat down in the chair Killir had gestured toward. She suddenly found herself with the fact that she had no idea how to use the weapons system on a spaceship. She randomly touched the screen, which suddenly lit up. She sighed in relief when she noticed it looked an awful lot like the weapons on a jet. She touched a button, and heard shots. With a grin on her face she looked at the screen and started shooting. Three ships behind them, all of which were shooting. She managed to take down one rather easily. The second one took some effort, but that one too, she destroyed. The third one…
Alarms went off. “They hit an engine!” Killir yelled.
“Damn it! Can we keep going?”
“It’s not inoperational, but we’re going a lot slower. We need that third ship down before they damage us even more!”
“Any ideas?” Natasha asked while continuing to shoot at the ship.
“I’ll turn us around, try to get behind him. When we get there, you need to hit them immediately! Got it?”
“Got it.”
Killir circled the ship around, managing to get behind the assailant, who apparently saw right through them and kept shooting. “Hit the torpedoes!”
“We have those?” Natasha responded, looking at the screen. She barely understood anything it said. She just randomly pressed a button and prayed. She saw something fly out of their ship, heading toward the other one. “I think I did it.” she said, and well enough, as soon as the projectile hit the other ship it exploded in a very fiery fashion.
“Great. Now we need to get out of this quadrant as soon as possible. You wanted to go to earth, right?”
Natasha nodded.
“To earth then!” Killir said, and plotted a course.
Natasha smiled. “To earth indeed.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of space, a man was teaching his daughter to shoot a bow. He looked up at the sun, and was reminded of his friend with red hair, who had given her life so that he could have one. So that everyone in the world could have one.
Another man looked up as well, working on one of his many projects, researching travel between realms. He saw an orange glare in the distance and was reminded of the shade of her hair, of the day she left them to save everyone.
Both men looked up and thought of their friend and prayed, like they did every day, that somehow, she would come back. That somehow, returning the stone had also returned her. Every day they prayed, and every morning they were disappointed. Yet they kept on living. That’s what she would have wanted them to do.
Bruce sighed and returned to his work. Suddenly, he heard a radio. “Can anyone hear me?” He blinked, and ran. It couldn’t be…
“Is anyone there? This is Natasha Romanoff. I am headed to Earth. If you get this message, can you warn the Avengers Natasha Romanoff wants to speak to them? Hello? Is anyone listening?”

Chapter Text

Natasha sighed and walked away from the radio station. The message was recorded. Now there was nothing left to do but pray it would arrive soon, so that the Avengers knew she was alive and coming home.
“You sent it?” Gamora asked.
“Yeah. Killir said it would take a while to arrive, but in a day or so Earth should be able to hear it,” Natasha responded. “Or Killir doesn’t know what he’s talking about and it’ll never arrive,” she continued jokingly
“Eh, he probably does. Then again, we don’t know him that well.”
“What, you didn’t ask for his life-story when you recruited him?”
“Thought there’d be more than enough time to do that on the journey there,” Gamora snickered.
“How’s your wound?”
“It still hurts, but it’s bandaged up and everything. Shouldn’t take too long to heal. Now, can I get to that radio? I want to see if I can contact the Guardians.”
“Peter, huh?” Natasha said, grinning knowingfully.
“I… How do you even know about that?” Gamora asked, a hint of caution in her voice.
“No need to worry. Rocket told me. He… We talked a lot. He told me about you guys when you were, well, dead. He needed someone to talk to about you guys. In exchange, he listened to me talk about the people I lost, the things that happened. I think those conversations are one of the few things that kept me sane. Anyway, I won’t bug you about it. But, if you want to, I’m here for it.”
“I… I don’t know how much time exactly has passed, but it feels as though I haven’t seen him in forever. It’s strange. I never thought I could get this attached to someone. I never really was, I only cared for my sister. With the other Guardians however… It took a while, but one day I realised I was willing to lay down my life for each and every one of them, Peter most of all.”
“You love him,” Natasha said with a smile on her face.
“I guess I do.” Gamora sighed. “How about you? Anyone you care for that much back on Earth?”
“Well… Of course I care for all my fellow Avengers. Just like you with your comrades, I’d die for each and every one of them. Love… I have two men I love down there. For one of them I care for like a brother, Clint. I hope he got his family back, they disappeared during the snap you see. The other one was more like a lover. I’m not sure if he still is, we… Seven years ago we parted and things were left kind of weird. Even when we finally saw each other again… We didn’t try rekindling it or anything, though I still cared for him. I think he also still cared for me, but those five years we could have had, we just… We both focused on different things I guess.” Natasha looked down.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t.” Gamora said, putting her hand on her shoulder.
“I do want to talk about it, it’s just. I never talked about this before, most of my friends aren’t exactly the type to talk to about this stuff. But me and Bruce, we are like two planets orbiting each other. We both want it, both love each other… I think. However, things are just complicated. They have been for a long time.”
“Let’s talk about other stuff, as soon as I send out this message. You can head to the cockpit. Question Killir about his past for me, will you?” Gamora winked.

Natasha headed to the neighbouring room. Killir and Red were laughing as they talked to each other. “Wirklich? Das ist unglaublich!” Killir said.
“Ja, es ist! Ich-” Red Skull stopped speaking when he saw Natasha. “Fraulein. Did you manage to send the message?”
“Yup. Should arrive as soon as we are in range. What were you two talking about?”
“I was just telling Killir a story. It feels good to converse in my native language once. You must feel the same way about talking to someone in Russian.”
“Yeah, no, I prefer English.” Red Skull shrugged and Natasha turned her attention to Killir. “This is one hell of a nice ship, Killir! How did you know it was in there?”
Killir turned his chair to face her. “It’s mine. Cops stole it from me in the name of justice and whatnot.”
Natasha raised her eyebrows. “Why on earth did they take your ship for justice? What did you do?”
Killir was not impressed. “I might have a bounty in multiple parts of the cosmos. Stole a few things, might have kidnapped a few for ransom… Also, I smuggle stuff. Weapons. If people ask me to, I fuel some rebellions with funds, arms, that kind of stuff.”
“They just need to ask nicely?” Gamora asked as she walked in.
“As long as they bring cash, everyone is asking nicely as far as I’m concerned.” Killir grinned. “If they don’t, well, I must politely decline.” His grin turned wolfish with that last comment.
“Sounds fair,” Natasha said. She looked at Gamora. “Did you manage to send your message as well?”
“I did. I hope it arrives at the ship soon. I really want to talk to them.”
“I get it. But, now that we’ve all sent our messages and everything, all we can do is wait. Unless any of you have an idea.”
Everyone shook their heads. “I have some odd jobs lying around, parts that could use some fixing up, stuff like that, but nothing major. Y’all can relax for now.”

“Quill, seriously, relax. No use in stressing yourself out,” Nebula hissed at the man next to her. Peter was busy looking into a mirror and trying to fix his hair. “My sister is not going to care about the way you look when she sees you. She’s just going to care she sees us. Seriously. You’re being stupid.”
“It’s been years, Nebula. I’m damn well going to make sure I look good when I see her.”
“Whatever,” Nebula sighed.
“Quill, two things. Firstly, you do realise she might not even be there when we get there, right? Might be she already managed to get off planet with the others. Romanoff is just as resourceful as Gamora, maybe even more. They probably commandeered a ship without batting an eye,” Rocket retorted, rolling his eyes at Quill’s behavior.
“Yes, they probably have. Natasha is like that.” Thor said.
“Sure. What’s the second thing?” Quill asked, sighing.
“Don’t worry ‘bout fixing your appearance. Green guy brought you back with fat and everything else that was your body. Ain’t no fixing that,” Rocket snickered.
Thor laughed too,rumbling like it was storming outside of the ship. “Any luck contacting the Avengers?” Quill quipped at him.
“No. The distance of Earth is too great for your machines to bridge. When we get closer to Earth, I’ll try again.”
“You can’t just use your magic axe to get there, tell them and get back?” Quill asked sarcastically.
“No. That would be too much of a risk. We will just wait until we can speak to them via these machines.” Thor replied.
“Guess they’ll just have to wait a bit longer to hear the news.” Rocket said, shrugging.

“Bruce. Is this real? Is she really… Nat’s alive? She came back?” Clint said, nearly dropping the phone.
From the other end, Bruce responded: “Just listen to the file I sent you. You’ll know I’m speaking the truth. She’s back. No idea how, but… she’s coming.”
Tears started falling from Clint’s eyes as he tried to comprehend the news. She was back. She’d found a way. He thanked the gods silently, sitting down on a nearby chair. “So now what?”
“I’ve tried to send a message back, but there’s a lot of distance between her and Earth. I’m not sure if it will reach her. I’ll keep trying. As soon as there’s more contact, you’ll be the first to know. Are you alright?”
“I am. Or, I will be. I just didn’t think this would happen. I thought… I thought she was gone for good, all because I didn’t stop her.”
“Well, don’t beat yourself up. We all knew Nat, and you’re not the only one with regrets.” Bruce sounded encouraging yet sad at the same time.
“Right. I’m sorry man. Didn’t mean it like that. How’re you holding up?” Clint asked, mentally scolding himself. He might feel more responsible than anyone for Natasha’s death, but he knew the scientist was doing the exact same thing.
“I’m… I’m figuring it out. At the very least, all of this means I get a second chance, to… I don’t even know. I just know that this time, I want to do it right. I get the chance to do that. I’m grateful for that fact, at least.” Bruce said, his voice growing softer as he kept speaking. Clint barely even heard the last sentence.
“I get it. I guess I feel the same way. Now I think I should go help Laura. Sounds like the kids are destroying everything in my absence. Take care Bruce. If you need anything, you know who to call.”
“Same goes for you,” Clint hung up the phone.
“Darling, are you coming?” Laura yelled from downstairs.
“Just a second!” Clint walked to his drawer, shoving it open to check if its contents were still there. He sighed when he saw the familiar sight of his bow. He hoped he wouldn’t need it, but he was pretty sure he would. One did not simply walk out of Vormir, or so he suspected at least. He pushed the drawer shut and headed down. For now, all he could do was pray she’d just make it to Earth safely.

“Killir! Why are we landing?” Gamora asked as she ran into the cockpit.
“Well, as you might recall our engine got damaged? My baby can fly three times as fast if we repair it, an’ I thought that might be in your best interests since we’re still a ways from Earth. So, we’re landing here to get it fixed. Don’t worry, I won’t get arrested here. They know me.” Killir said, keeping his eyes peeled to the console.
“Isn’t shit like crime just made public to all planets? Wouldn’t they want to arrest us here as well?” Natasha asked.
“Nah. As I said, these people know me. Helped me on a few occasions. Know I won’t hurt them as long as they don’t hurt me.” Killir turned to them, continuing: “‘Sides, they owe me a favor. Don’t worry your pretty little heads too much.”
That comment earned him a kick to the shins (or whatever that part was called with his species) from both women.
They landed without a hitch. Red Skull had to admit it felt good to be outside of the ship. He was not afraid of planes, but to say he was fond of them would be a gross overstatement as well.

The city they arrived in looked deserted, buildings that desperately needed a lick of paint and an overall lack of people. “Are you sure we’re in the right place? It seems kind of quiet.” Red Skull remarked.
“That’s the point Red. They don’t do business on top here… it’s all below ground. Our ship is already being taken there. Just thought I’d show you guys the flashy way in.” Killir grinned. “Here you go, ladies and gentleman.”
They walked in the direction he had pointed in. Before long, Killir stopped and turned to face them. “It’s over here.”
“Where the orange glow is coming from?” Gamora asked.
“What orange?” Killir asked, turning around. “Huh. Must be new. Wasn’t there when I was last here. Anyway, it’s over there, yeah. Come on.”
They walked into the house. Inside there wasn’t much, just a set of stairs. Killir frowned. “Odd. There’s supposed to be a set of guards here. This ain’t good.”
Natasha and Gamora shared a look, then drew their weapons. Red Skull had followed their example before it was even given. Killir looked at them, shrugged and took out his gun too. “Doubt it’s necessary, but safety first I guess.”

It seemed like the stairs were endless. As they headed down, the orange light grew brighter. They were getting closer to its source, Natasha thought.
When they finally reached the end of the stairs, there was only a small room with a table on one side, a door hanging on its hinges on the other. The group exchanged wary looks and headed forward.
Inside, they found a ravage even bigger than the one above ground. Tentroofs torn, brick walls reduced to all but dust and rubble. There was, however, a distinct lack of bodies. “What the hell happened here?” Killir said, eyes wide and filled with sorrow.
“If it wasn’t for the lack of bodies, I’d say a slaughter. Without them… mass destruction by something incredibly powerful.” Gamora responded.
“Where’d everyone go?” Natasha asked no one in particular.
“This place… the evacuation protocols were extensive because of the dangers of collapse. As soon as the alarm is given, everyone is gone within one minute. I saw it once before, it’s… it’s amazing. But I think…”
“Duck!” Natasha yelled, pushing Killir to the ground as she jumped. Two orange spears flew over their heads. Red Skull sent two bullets in return, but there was no one to be seen except them. Suddenly, three more spears flew in their direction.
“We need to take cover!” Gamora yelled.
“Ein Haus, over there! Go!” Red Skull yelled as he fired a couple more shots.
They ran for the safety of the walls. Inside, everyone crouched. Natasha slowly peeked at the scene in front of them. No one. “What the… Who the fuck...” she murmured.
Gamora tapped her shoulder. “Nat… I think I found them,” she said, pointing to the window. Behind it, two orange shades were visible.
Red Skull grimaced. “If that is who I think it is…”
“We’re fucked.” Natasha said a little too loud. The sound made the shades turn around. Within seconds they disappeared from the window, heading for the door, Natasha presumed. She aimed her gun at the door, every fibre in her body focused on that one shot. The door blew open and Natasha fired. Smoke was all that remained from the shade. She sighed. “I think I got-“ she began, when suddenly she heard a thud. And a second one, sending the house shaking on its foundations. With the third one, a part of the wall was sent flying to create a hole.
Natasha looked in horror at the scene in front of her. “On second thought… Run!”

Chapter Text

“What the fuck just happened?” Gamora yelled, running as fast as she could. Her companions were running behind her, avoiding orange shards as they moved.
“They just took out the wall like it was nothing! I was sure I had killed it!” Natasha responded, casting a glance behind her to see what their attackers were doing. She saw one of them touch the ground, pulling out a huge chunk which changed into the material those shards were from. “Alright everyone, split up! We’ll rendezvous back at the ship. Try to slow them down while you go. Killir, in ten minutes I want to be off this fucking planet! Make it happen!”
Killir nodded and disappeared into an alley. Natasha turned around, shot a few bullets and turned back, running again. Red Skull didn’t even look behind him as he shot over his shoulder. Then he took a left turn as he headed toward a ladder to the surface.
Only Natasha and Gamora hadn’t left the town now. Gamora pointed to an exit on one side, then to one in front of them. Natasha pointed to the one in front and sped up. Gamora sped up too, but headed to the other exit. As she ran, Natasha noticed one shade came after her, one after Gamora. She just hoped they would be able to outrun them.
The stairs slowed her down a bit, to her dismay. Strangely though, the creature’s attacks were aimed only at her instead of at the staircase. Destroying those steps would be enough to trap me in here. Why doesn’t he aim there? Natasha thought to herself. No matter. She was escaping, that was the important thing.

When she reached the surface, she shut the door behind her in an attempt to trap the attacker. She exhaled when nothing happened, giving herself ten seconds to regain her breath. She looked around at the door to check no one was there before heading to the ship. She blinked when she saw orange smoke move through the door as if there was nothing. While it materialised, Natasha could finally see the actual shape of their assailants. The creature looked like Red, except its body was made of something that looked like orange mist. It looked at her, then at the ground. It extended its hand toward the stone floor of the building. As it did that, the stone seemed to be pulled up toward it and changing into another material, another shape. It slowly became one of those shards that had been flying around.
Natasha decided not to wait any longer. She ran like hell, heading toward the ship. When she had reached it, she jumped on board, sparing not a moment. “Everyone here?” she asked no-one in particular. Looking around, she saw Killir and Gamora. “Where’s Red?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.
“Haven’t seen him. I thought he was with you guys,” Killir responded, furrowing his brows.
“He wasn’t with us, we split up moments after you left,” Gamora said. “You don’t think they got him, do you?”
“Honestly, out of every one of us, he was the last person I would expect to get captured.” Natasha said. “But, captured or not, we need to find him. I’m heading outside again.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to leave in ten minutes? Red knows that. If we just left, he wouldn’t hold it against him.”
“I don’t want to leave anyone behind if I can help it. If the shades come here and we’re not back yet, go. Until then, wait for us.”
“Alright, sounds like a plan. I’m coming with you if you’re going out though. Two’s better than one.” Gamora insisted.
“No. If they come for the ship, I want you here. One of us needs to get back to their loved ones.” Natasha dismissed her. “I’ll be back soon,” she said as she headed outside, not giving Gamora a chance to argue.

Dust flew around as the wind blew. Natasha held a hand in front of her face to maintain her vision, keeping the dust from her eyes. For a second she contemplated yelling for Red Skull, but she quickly shut down that idea when she realised it would only draw attention to her. Running around and searching it was then. She mapped out her route in her mind, trying to find the place where Red Skull should have surfaced.
It took a few minutes for her to find the door. There was no visible sign of Red, but when she listened closely she heard yelling nearby. She ran for the origin of the sound, weapons drawn. As she got closer, she saw it was indeed Red, fighting not one but both of the shades. One noticed her and threw a shard at her virtually immediately. She ducked in time to evade it and headed closer, firing bullets as she went.
“Frau Romanoff, it is good to see you. I had thought you might leave without me since I failed to show. You might have noticed I could use your help.” Red Skull said, gesturing toward the shades.
“Yeah, I’m not a big fan of leaving people behind.. We need to drive them off for a bit. Any wisdom to impart on how to fight them?” Natasha responded.
Red Skull shook his head. “I have no idea. Everything moves right through them.”
“Great,” Natasha murmured. She kept shooting but, as Red Skull had said, everything just moved through them. She and Red stood back to back as they tried to drive off the shades. With nothing hitting them though, their attacks just kept coming.

A click came from Natasha’s gun. “Shit.” she said, realising she didn’t have any more bullets on her. She cursed herself for leaving her batons on the ship. Nothing to be done about it. Time for a plan B. She evaded a new series of shards, picked one up from the ground and ran toward one of the shades. She realised putting herself this close to the creatures was dangerous, but she had no other options. She ran, jumped and extended the shard toward the shade.
Red Skull gaped at the sight in front of them. All of their attacks had gone through the creatures like they had been made of smoke. The shard, instead, went like a blade through paper. It tore a hole in the creature. Next thing he saw, it had just evaporated. He looked at the other shade, at the weapon in its hand, and realised he had seen them unable to touch anything but those weapons. That was the key. “The other one, miss Romanoff! They can’t move through their own weapons!” he yelled.
Natasha nodded and headed toward the other. It managed to block her initial attack, and a short fight ensued. In that time, however, Red Skull picked up another shard. He looked at the fight in front of him for a moment, then suddenly saw an opening. He took the opportunity and drove the shard into the back of the shade. The tip of the shard barely missed Natasha’s arm as it impaled the shade. That one too, evaporated. Natasha looked as the smoke floated away.
“You almost hit me.” she said, looking at Red.
“I am sorry for that. I thought it would be best, for you too, if the creature was killed as quickly as possible.”
“It was. We just need to keep this in mind. Those shards go through a little too easily. If we battle them again and someone decides to throw one of those shards…” she shuddered. “Anyone standing behind could get seriously hurt.” She sighed. “Anyway, let’s head to the ship before Killir and Gamora leave.” With this, she turned around and headed to the ship. Red Skull followed her silently.

Before long, they reached the ship. Hastily they entered. “You found him!” Gamora said, her face lightening up as she saw them enter..
“I did. I’ll gladly tell the story of how we got here, but I’d like to be in the air first. Killir! Let’s move!” Natasha said, panting.
“Aye aye, cap’n,” Killir said as he readied the ship. Within a minute they had left the surface of the planet.
Natasha sunk down on a chair. “Red got himself cornered by two of those shades. We managed to kill them.” she said, looking at Gamora.
“Wait, what? How? Nothing I did was enough to even slow them down!” Gamora asked in surprise.
“They appear to be vulnerable to nothing but their own weapons,” Red said. “When they’re stabbed with one of those shards of theirs, they just evaporate.”
“That does make sense, now that I think about it.” Gamora commented.
“Yeah. Red took one with him, so with luck when we get to Earth someone will be able to recreate it. He told me on the way here he’s pretty sure those are soulstone soldiers. It makes sense, I mean, they are orange like the stone. Hopefully on Earth we’ll be able to figure out how to get her to stop chasing us.”
“So we’re still headed there?”
“Yes. Killir. We’re not stopping anymore, no matter what. I don’t think we’ll survive another encounter like this, so we’re not risking anything. We-”
“Hello? Anyone there? Gamora, are you receiving us?” a voice asked over the radio.

Natasha and Gamora looked at each other. Then, Gamora raced to the radio. “Yes, this is Gamora! Who is this?”
“You really are back... It’s me. Peter. The others are standing next to me, listening too. They… they say hi,” the voice responded.
“Peter! You got my message?” Gamora asked.
“Yeah, we did. We were just headed toward Linaria to find you when we got it. We tried to reach you, and fortunately we did. You must be close. Where exactly are you?”
Gamora looked at Killir. “Which planet did we just leave?” she asked.
“Frolar,” Killir responded.
“We just left planet Frolar, and are now continuing our course to Earth.”
“Who’s we? You weren’t really clear about that in your message.” Peter said.
“Right now I’m travelling with Natasha Romanoff, the former Guardian of the stone who goes by Red Skull-”
“Johann Schmidt, officially.” Red interrupted.
“-or Johann, apparently. We are flying on the ship of Killir, a Linarian who had trouble with the authorities because of his support of rebellions or something. He’s escorting us to Earth.”
“Or something? That sounds… What, Thor? You want to say something to Natasha? I’m talking to Gamora first. No. Just wait for a bit. So, how are you?”
“We’re being chased by soldiers of the Soulstone, on a ship where one engine is broken and I’ve got a wound in my leg. Could be better, but it could also be worse. At least I’m not on my own.”
“That’s good, yeah. How did you get that wound?”
“Shot by spaceport security. How are you guys?”
“Well, you’re alive so that’s a lot better than the original situation. Do you need us to pick you up?”
Gamora thought about it for a moment. “No. Natasha, Red and me are all chased by the stone. I don’t think it’s wise nor is it friendly to leave them. Until we are no longer chased by the stone, I’m staying with them. If you want to help, head to Earth too. I’ll see you there.”
“We will. Anything for you.” It stayed silent for a moment. “Yes Thor, now you can talk to Natasha. See you soon, Gamora.” Peter said.
Gamora smiled, then handed the microphone to Natasha.

“Natasha! I can’t tell you how happy I am to know you’re alive!” Thor shouted.
“It’s good to hear from you again too, Thor.” Natasha smiled. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, yes. I’m feeling a lot better now. I have been travelling with these people, the guardians, which has been fun. How have you been?”
“Good to hear! I’m better. Not being dead really does something for that. Nearly getting killed again isn’t that great though. I hope we fix this whole business with the soulstone quickly. I’m afraid it’ll turn out differently though.”
“Well, you’ve got us now. All will turn out well. The rabbit is shouting at me that he needs me. I will speak to you again soon.”
“I look forward to it. Bye Thor.”
“Bye Natasha.”
Natasha put down the microphone. “At least we know the radio works.”
Gamora laughed. “We do. So now we head for Earth?”
“Yeah, we do. Let’s go home.”

“I am sorry, mistress. They managed to defeat two of your soldiers. Moreover, the woman named Gamora still lives. I have failed you.” the woman said, looking up at the sky. She shut her eyes tightly, preparing for what she knew was coming. Everything remained quiet for a moment when suddenly she started screaming and crying like she was in terrible pain. “I’m sorry! I will fix it! They will not go unpunished! I will send more! I will go myself to fix it!” The screaming stopped as suddenly as it had begun. “I promise, mistress. I will go after them myself to destroy them. You know I only follow your orders.” She turned around and looked at two shades that were floating behind her. “Gather everyone. We march to the criminals tomorrow. They will not go unpunished for what they did to our Lady.”

Chapter Text

“Earth is coming into view! It’s about ten minutes before we arrive!” Killir shouted. Natasha ran up to the cockpit to look. There it was, her planet. Tears welled up in her eyes, knowing it wouldn’t be long before she would set foot on it again. Gamora came up and stood next to her. Right behind theirs flew the Guardian’s ship, matching its speed to them, and in front of them was the most beautiful planet in the universe, at least in Natasha’s opinion. The view was breathtaking.
After a while, Natasha pulled herself away from the view and walked to the radio. “I’m going to try and get in touch with Earth.”
“Seems like a good idea, before they think we’re dangerous,” Gamora said.
“We are dangerous though.” Natasha smiled.
“You’re right, but they don’t need to think that,” Gamora said, grinning.
Natasha laughed before turning her attention to the radio. Choosing the correct frequency she started talking: “Hello, this is Natasha Romanoff. Does anybody hear me?”
The radio stayed silent for a moment, only static audible. Then, a voice spoke: “Natasha?”
“Yes, this is Natasha Romanoff. Who am I speaking to?”
“Nat… It’s me, Bruce.”
Natasha gasped as her heart jumped in her chest. “Bruce! Hey!”
“You came back! I didn’t… I hadn’t…” he stammered.
“Neither did I. It’s… good to speak with you again, Bruce. How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive ever since I received your message.”
“You received it? Why didn’t you send anything back?” she asked.
“I did. You didn’t get it?”
“No, I didn’t,” she said, furrowing her brow. “But technology isn’t always trustworthy. It probably just got lost or something”
Gamora tapped her shoulder. “Three minutes until we land, Nat.”
Natasha nodded. “Got it. Bruce, we’ll be landing in about three minutes. Is the old Avengers base still functional? Two ships will be landing.”
“Ehm, actually… The base might have been destroyed? We’re at my lab right now. You remember where it is?” Bruce responded.
“I do,” Natasha responded. She turned around and gave Killir the location before diverting her attention back to the radio. “Killir’s adjusting course right now. You were speaking about a ‘we’?”
“Hey Nat…” another voice spoke through the radio.
“Who… Clint? Is that you?” she asked, eyes opened wide.
“Yep, it’s me. Bruce called me after he received your message, and here I am. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. I’m with some new friends and I’m two minutes away from home. I couldn’t be happier if it wasn’t for the Soul Stone trying to kill us.”
“What?” the two men asked in unison.
Natasha glanced at Killir, who gestured at her to hang up. “I need to go right now. I’ll explain when we’ve landed,” she said.
“See you soon,” Bruce said. Natasha put down the headset and headed toward the others.
“Buckle up, miss Romanoff. We are descending upon Earth.” Red Skull said. Natasha nodded and sat down, fastening her belt.
The landing went smoothly. Killir turned his chair around with a grin, proclaiming: “We’ve arrived. Ain’t you guys happy you’ve gotten yourselves such a capable captain?”
Natasha laughed. “We are, Killir. Seriously, thanks for taking us here. I guess you’ll be on your way now?”
Killir nodded. “I’ll do a few repairs, if possible, and then I’ll head off. It’s been fun travelling with you guys but there are people who need supplies.”
Gamora nodded in response: “I get it. It’s been nice travelling with you too.”
Natasha grinned. “It has. Remember to say goodbye to us before you actually leave!”
“I will. I get a feeling you wouldn’t let me leave otherwise!” Killir laughed.

“Why are they taking so long? Did something go wrong?” Clint asked as he looked at Bruce, a scared look in his eyes. The two men had been staring at the ship since it came into view and it had been a while since it had landed.
“I’m sure they’re just gathering their things or something, no need to be worried,” Bruce responded. “Look, it’s opening!”
The first thing that came into view was a flash of red. Then, Natasha Romanoff stepped into the door-something, looking around. A smile appeared on her face when she noticed them, and she immediately ran in their direction. Clint felt two arms close around him and he immediately returned the hug. Tears welled up out of joy. “Nat…” was all he could say. She released him and grinned.
“It’s been a bit longer than a minute,” she said. Clint laughed, still stuck with emotion, while she turned her attention to Bruce. “Hi…” she said awkwardly.
“Hey, Nat. It… it’s good to see you.” Bruce responded. The two stared at each other for a while, unsure of how to deal with one another.
They were broken out of their trance by Killir as he walked up to them followed by Red Skull. “Hey, guys. Any chance I could borrow your equipment to fix my ship?” Killir asked.
“Ehm, what?” Bruce said.
“I need to fix my ship. You don’t mind if I use your stuff for that?” Killir explained, a sliver of annoyance in his eyes.
“Bruce?” Natasha asked.
“Go ahead. Unless it’s bolted down I doubt anything you take is irreplaceable.” Bruce responds.
“You heard him. Red, I’d rather you stay here though. I think we are going to need your help explaining things, and planning on how to resolve our little situation.” Natasha said.
Red Skull nodded. Killir walked off while Clint said: “Yeah, some explaining would probably be a good idea. What the heck is going on?
She looked at him. “I’ll explain everything, but I think it’s best to wait until the Guardians have landed first.”

As she said this, another ship landed. This time it was Gamora who stood longingly as she waited for her friends to arrive. The ship landed, albeit a bit less gracious then their ship had or so Gamora thought. The doors opened. First Rocket walked out, then Quill flew toward her like a bullet. He hugged her tightly, releasing the hug just to kiss her.
“You’re alive! I’ve missed you! I’ve missed you so much!” he said.
Gamora smiled and felt her cheeks heat up. “I’ve missed you too, Peter,” she said. Then, she turned her attention to the others: Rocket, Groot, Drax, Mantis and, most importantly:
“Hey sister,” Nebula said. Gamora extended her arms and pulls her into a hug.
“I’m happy to see you again,” she said, her smile growing even bigger. “I’ve missed all of you.”
Gamora blinks when she sees a near identical copy of herself walk out of the ship. The only noticeable difference is that the other one is wearing her hair in a braid, as opposed to Gamora’s own hair which hangs freely over her shoulders. “Who is that?” she asked.
“She’s you. Well, the you from another timeline. It’s kind of difficult to explain.” Rocket said while the other Gamora walked in their direction.
“Well, I know you went into other timelines to get the stones… Natasha told me about your plan. She just came along?”
“Not exactly…” Rocket said.
“The Thanos from another timeline came into this one too. He brought us with, of course. The me died, but you… Well, that you deflected to our side, so she stayed alive. We had to bring her along after we found her again since she was attacked…” Nebula continued.
“She was attacked because the shades thought she was me,” Gamora said, lowering her head.
“Probably. But, hey, it’s fine, she’s still alive.” Rocket remarked.
The other Gamora walked up to her and extended her hand. “Hey, I’m… well, you.”
“Nice to meet you! I understand you got into some trouble because of me, I’m sorry about that.” Gamora said, shaking her hand.
“I guess that’s an occupational hazard. This is weird, by the way..” Gamora said.
“It is. Let’s just stop this.” Gamora responded.
“Seems like a good idea,” Gamora said, laughing. Gamora started laughing too, and soon the entire crew of the guardians was laughing.

Thor runs toward the people on the other side of the runway. “Natasha!” he shouted, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey Thor,” she responded, laughing.

After the greetings and everything has been done, everyone gathered in one of the many rooms in Bruce’s lab. After Natasha, Red Skull and Gamora had explained their part and the guardians had told what they had seen, everyone was silent.
“So, this all is kind of disturbing,” Bruce said, looking at Natasha.
“It hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park, no,” she reacted.
“So what now? What do we do?” Peter asked.
“Well, we know those things can only be killed with their own weapons. It’s at least a good idea to see if we can’t replicate that material to use in our own weapons,” Bruce said.
“That’s a good idea. Can you try and figure that out, Bruce? I think Rocket could help with that,” Natasha said. Bruce and Rocket nodded.
“I’ll get the shard for them,” Red said and he floated out of the room. Bruce and Rocket walked out, heading to the labs.
“Now, those shards aren’t our real problem. They’re only soldiers. We need to figure out a plan to deal with the stone itself. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to even do that. How do you defeat a nearly all-powerful stone?” Gamora asked.
“I…” Natasha was interrupted by the doors opening as Killir walked through.
“Hey, I’m done with the repairs of the ship. It needs some more, but for that, I need parts you guys do not appear to have,” he said.
“Maybe our ship has…” Peter began.
“Already checked. Nope. So, I’m leaving. It’s been fun to travel with you guys. Maybe I’ll see you around again,” Killir said.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Gamora said. She shook Killir’s hand. “Goodbye, Killir.”
“Goodbye. Stay out of trouble!” Natasha said with a wink. Killir, Natasha, and Gamora all laughed. “Okay, maybe just stay safe,” Natasha continued.
“See you guys around! Red’s at the ship, right? I’ll say goodbye to him there. Bye!” Killir said as he walked out of the room again.

At the ship, he did indeed find Red Skull. They said their goodbyes, and Killir took off. Red Skull watched him fly off, a heavy feeling in his heart. He wondered why. He hadn’t know Killir for that long, but… he was the person on the ship he had related to the most. He shook off the feeling. No need to worry about that. They would undoubtedly meet again. Of that, Red Skull was certain.
He took the shard with him inside. After he had delivered it to Banner and Rocket, he walked back to the chamber. Only Natasha and Gamora were standing there. “Where did everyone else go?” he asked.
“They went to do some work on their ship, and Clint’s gone to call his family. Gamora sent Quill away with the others. He really didn’t want to go, it was so cute.” Natasha grinned.
“Shut up,” Gamora said, her cheeks darkening in a blush. “So Killir took off?”
“Yes. He took off just now, I watched the ship fly away.” Red Skull responded.
“Miss him already, don’t you?” Natasha said, smirking. Red Skull responded with a glare.
“I was joking! Anyway, one friend is gone, but we’ve reunited with the others. We’ve got some ideas on how to deal with everything… Things are looking up!”
“Don’t say that! I’m pretty sure that if you say it out loud it won’t stay that way!” Gamora said, laughing.
Red Skull smiled. “Shall we see if we can not help the others?” he said, gesturing toward the door.
“Yeah. Let’s work on our revenge!” Gamora said. The trio walked out of the room.

Chapter Text

It had been about two days since they had arrived on Earth. Everyone had been working effortlessly to find a way to defeat the stone, to win. It had gone slow, Natasha thought to herself while she walked through the hallway, on her way to the lab to check Bruce and Rocket’s progress. She perked when she saw Gamora on the other side of the hallway.
“Hey, Gamora. Can I ask you something?” Natasha said as she walked up to her.
“Sure, what is it?” the green woman responded.
“I was wondering… Could you find Red and Thor? I thought it might be a good idea to gather knowledge about the soul stone, and you three seem to know the most about it. Could you do that? Combine your knowledge with theirs and try to figure out what our options are?”
“I could do that. Nebula and maybe Peter probably know some stuff as well,” Gamora said, thinking to herself.
“Whoever you need. We need all the information we can get. You guys start information gathering, and let me know when you’ve got something.”
“Where are you off to?”
“I’m going to see if Bruce and the others made any progress on replicating the materials from those shards. They just messaged me they had finished their preliminary tests,” Natasha said.
“Bruce, huh,” Gamora said. Looking at Natasha with a soft smile, she continued: “I saw the looks on your faces when you saw each other again. You told me about the person you cared for… That was him, right? Aren’t you going to talk to him? As far as I know you haven’t yet.”
Natasha sighed. “That stuff between us was a long time ago, Gamora. I’m not sure I should even try. Things are probably better this way.”
“But you love him.”
“I guess I do.”
“Listen Nat, I’m most likely not the best person to say this, but… He loves you too, I think. Everything that happened between you… Just talk to each other. At least it will give you closure, if not more. I think there are a lot of things that should be said between you two,” Gamora said, placing her hand on Natasha’s shoulder.
“This isn’t the time for that,” Natasha said. Gamora looked at her with a concerned expression, to which Natasha smiled weakly. “I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. Anyway, I’m headed to the lab. Good luck on the information-gathering,” she said as she walked off.
“Good luck to you too,” Gamora said as she walked the other way. Time to go look for her boyfriend.

A cry of irritation erupted from the lab as Rocket threw away a hammer.
“Whoa, careful! I’d like for my lab to remain intact if you don’t mind,” Bruce said, glaring at him.
“This stuff is impossible to work with, Greenhead. Seriously. I can’t even get one bit off it! I want to see if our formula works, but I don’t think it’s a good idea that the whole fucking thing melts if we’ve made a mistake!” Rocket yelled, gesturing toward the shard.
“Let me try.” Bruce picked up the hammer and, aiming carefully, he swung it down upon the orange object. It shattered into a million tiny pieces.
Rocket looked at it, blinked, and started picking the shattered pieces up. Bruce laughed sheepishly. “It couldn’t match my strength, apparently.” He moved to help Rocket, when suddenly he saw someone walk in.
“Hey,” Natasha said.
“Hey,” he responded.
“Hey Nat. Don’t mind me, just picking up the mess your boy made,” Rocket said.
“We needed a sample, and you weren’t able to get one,” Bruce reminded him.
“Yeah, thanks for that, big guy. I’ll put these in a bowl or something,” Rocket said. “Wait. You don’t eat this kind of stuff, do you?”
Natasha put her hand in front of her mouth as she tried to hide her laugh. Bruce sighed. “No, I do not.”
“Okay, but if you mistake them for snacks that’s not my problem.”
Natasha howled with laughter as Bruce glared at Rocket who quickly ran into another room. When she finally stopped, she took a deep breath. “Glad I didn’t miss that.”
“Yeah, great. Why did you come here?” Bruce asked, a sliver of hope in his voice.
“I…” Natasha looked down, then back at him. “I just came to check if you two had made any progress.”

“Oh, right…” Bruce said, his shoulders slumping a bit.
Apparently this isn’t a good time though, so I’ll just come back later.” She turned to walk away, but Bruce grabbed her wrist.
“Wait, Nat. You don’t have to leave immediately, right? I… We haven’t really had a chance to talk since you came back,” he said.
“I… didn’t know there was something to talk about,” she said, her gaze fixed to the floor.
“You know that’s not true. Please, Nat. There are a lot of things I want- no, need to talk to you about. Losing you made me realise…” he said, letting go of her.
“No, Bruce.” Nat interrupted. “This isn’t the right time for this, I don’t think...”
“This might be the only time, Nat!” Bruce yelled, startling Natasha. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, for all we know we’re all dead tomorrow. This is the time to talk. We need to talk.”
“We haven’t needed to for years! Why do you want to talk now, all of a sudden?”
“Because I love you and you need to know that before I might lose you again!” Bruce yelled, his voice creaking in emotion.
Natasha looked at him. She blinked a few times, tears slowly welling up, then turned around and ran. “Just send me a report about what you’ve found.” she yelled as she exited the lab.
Bruce took a step, wanting to follow her, but stopped himself before he truly started. She probably didn’t even want to see him anymore, why did he even… He walked to a chair and slumped down, burying his head in his hands.
Rocket walked back in, furrowing his brow when he saw Bruce. “What’s wrong, big guy? You guys have a fight?”
“Yeah, we’ve been having one for a while I guess,” Bruce said. He raised his head and got up from the chair. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He sighed. “I’ll start running some tests on those fragments. You just… Do something else, I guess.”

“So, here’s what we know,” Gamora said, looking around at the people around her. Thor, Red Skull, Nebula and Peter looked back at her.
She continued: “The soul stone has these shades. We don’t know how it controls them, we don’t know much about the shades themselves except that they can not touch anything except for their own weapons which they create from scratch.” Everyone else nodded. “Anyone else have any information?”
Red Skull began: “The stone is sentient. As far as I know it does not have a physical form when a sacrifice is not given, but it does think, speak and give orders.”
Thor continued: “It is the soul stone, which has the ability to manipulate anything soul-related. Furthermore…”
The discussion went on for a while, everyone throwing in their knowledge. When no one else said anything anymore, Gamora sighed. “So this is it.”
“Yeah,” Nebula said. “It’s not useful. I have no idea how to defeat an opponent without a physical form. We could of course destroy the stone, but…”
“But that requires another sacrifice first.” Red Skull said. “A soul for a soul. Furthermore, once we do that there is no way to get whoever was sacrificed back, certainly not if we destroy the stone. We need to find a way to get it to manifest somehow.”
“Wait,” Peter said. Everyone looked at him expectantly. “Why does the soul stone need a sacrifice? None of the other stones do, right? So, why is the soul stone different?”
“That is a good question, Peter,” Gamora said. “I... don’t know. Red, do you?”
“I wish I did. When I was brought to Vormir, the soul stone talked to me. It gave me my orders, and warned me not to ever try to leave. Those orders were how I knew it required a sacrifice. I never got told a reason for the sacrifice itself.”
“I might have an idea,” Thor said. “When I was once told about the stones, my mother said every stone had a wielder. Usually the wielder dominated the stone, but the soul stone was different. It refused to be dominated, and instead it cooperated. Someday, this went wrong. The stone decided it wanted power over its wielder instead of a partnership.”
“So? What happened?” Gamora asked.
“What you’d expect. The stone took control of its wielder and the wielder became its slave. Because of that the stone gained a lot more power. I thought it was just a scary story like the others my mother used to tell me, but this… This might explain why the stone has these prerequisites, why it does not exist in its physical form the entire time as the others do. The stone was absorbed into the wielder and took control.”
Gamora looked horrified. “So we’re not dealing with just the stone, but with its wielder too?”
“She must be completely corrupted, not just in mind but in body as well,” Nebula said.
“She has to be. That poor woman. I can’t imagine what it must be like.” Gamora said.
“If she’s anything like my father, I doubt she deserves your pity, Gamora,” Peter said. “I don’t know anyone who wielded the stones by choice who had a good heart. Thanos, Ronan…”
“I knew one. Vision, the embodiment of the mind stone and Stark’s AI. He was a good man. But you are right, few wielders had a good heart,” Thor said
“We shall see about what to do with her when we find her. I think that should be our first plan of action. Unless you disagree?” Red Skull said.
“You’re right. We need to find her. I will try to find a source about the story and see if I can track her from there,” Nebula said. She turned around and walked away.
“If she’s one with the soul stone, she probably has some power over those shades. I’ll see if I can track those. Gamora, can you help me?” Peter asked.
“Of course! We should have thought of that much sooner. Let’s go. Thor, Red Skull, can you two see if you can help somewhere else? Maybe with the replicating of the material, or with finding another way to track them.” Thor and Red Skull nodded. Peter and Gamora left the room.
As soon as they had left Peter pulled Gamora close to him and kissed her. She was startled, but soon returned the kiss. When they released, she smiled at him. “Was there anything specific or did you just want to do that?”
“I missed you,” was all he said, smiling softly while he looked at her. She chuckled and took his hand as she started walking again..
“Let’s go, Peter. We have a stone to find.”

Killir looked at his ship. Just a few more things to do until she would be in perfect shape. He went to grab a screwdriver when he suddenly heard a noise behind him. He turned around, saying: “I’ll be gone in just a few seconds, don’t…” He stopped when he had a clear view of the person standing behind him. A woman dressed in orange smiled. Around her stood several shades. Killir quickly picked up a nearby hammer and threw it at her. She deflected it effortlessly. “Who are you? What do you want?” Killir asked.
The woman kept smiling. “What I want is quite simple, mister Killir. You know where those who defy my Mistress have fled to. You shall tell me, or you shall die.”
“I’ll never tell you. They were right to defy your mistress. I won’t betray them,” Killir said, throwing another tool.
“What a shame,” the woman said as she deflected that too, “I had hoped you would be smarter. Oh well. I will find them myself. Mistress’ shades are already on their scent.”
Killir’s eyes widened. Before he could say anything, the woman flicked her wrist toward him, and two shades summoned a shard. He dodged them, jumping around. He exhaled in relief when suddenly he felt something and saw a third shard buried in his chest. He looked at it for a moment, then fell over. He looked up at the woman, panting. “Who are you?” He asked, crying as he took his last breaths.
As his head slumped, the woman grinned. “People once called me Aliyish, but I no longer go by that. I need no names. My Mistress is all that I need. Now you too can see that. May you serve her well.” She stepped over the corpse and walked out of the workshop. “It is a shame you would not cooperate. No matter. We will still find them.” She turned to one of the shades. "Now. To capture the renegades. Shall we?"

Chapter Text

“Why are we here again?” Peter asked, looking outside at a barren landscape. “I’m really not sure if this is the best plan, guys. I mean, Gamora, you can’t have any good memories about this place, right? Or you, Red Skull. You can’t like this place either. We probably shouldn’t be here.” He looked around at his companions, pleading. Red Skull, Gamora, Nebula and Thor stared back.

Gamora put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re right, Peter. I don’t like this place. I like it even less than you, I’m sure. But we need to find more information about the soul stone, and this has to be the best place to do so. We’ll be fine. Come on, let’s go outside.”

Thor opened the doors. “Carry on,” he said, “We need to see if my mother’s story carries a bit of truth. We need to find a way to defeat the soulstone.”

Having said this, he stepped outside of the ship onto the surface of Vormir. The others followed. Looking out over the wasteland, Peter felt uneasy and took Gamora’s hand. She cast one quick look at him, then squeezed it, trying to comfort him. “It’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Come on, let’s go. I think the place we need to be is over there.” She pulled him along, forward. Back to the place of her death.

They had decided to head here yesterday. Their initial investigations had ended up showing nothing and it had been Nebula who had suggested to come here. Here, at the soul stone’s liar, they might be able to find a secure lead. They had left the job of tracking the stone and the shades to the other Gamora, to Drax and to Mantis, and headed off. All of them were praying to find something. This felt like their last hope.

Red Skull wandered over the plains, following the others to the place he had called home for many years. He felt uneasy, being so close to the soul stone again. He looked around and recognised several landmarks, mostly some big rocks and mountains. One of them had two small extended parts which looked like ears. It looked like a Linarian, he thought to himself. It made him think of Killir. He wondered where the Linarian was now, if he had gone back to his smuggling and rebellion. Or if his friend had made it back at all…
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder. “Are you doing well, Johann? It seems you are in low spirits,” Thor said.
Red Skull looked at him with surprise in his eyes. “It has been a long while since I heard that name. Yes, I am doing well enough. I am afraid this place does not hold many good memories for me.”
“Ah, I understand that. You were imprisoned here, or…”
“I was sent here by the Tesseract when I tried to use it. I arrived here and since then I was here until I escaped with Fraulein Romanoff and Frau Gamora.”
“You were all alone? That must have been hard. I feel sorry for you, Johann.”
Red Skull blinked. “Thank you. It feels very strange to be here. For some reason I feel like I never left,” he said. Suddenly, he bumped into someone in front of him. “Ow!”
Nebula turned around, and looked at him. “You feel like you never left? Maybe that’s because part of you indeed never did…” She pointed at the thing she, Gamora and Peter were looking at.
Johann moved past them and looked at the thing in front of him. “Mein Gott…” he said.

“That… That is me? But how?” he said, shaking. The corpse in front of him was undeniably his exact copy. He even wore the same clothes, he realised when he looked down at his own garments.
“You should probably sit down, Red…” Gamora said.
“That is not my name!” he snapped. Gamora flew back, looking at him with widened eyes.
Red, she, they had called him. The Red Skull. He felt a rage burning within him, and Johann realised he had resented that name for a while now, the moniker given to him after by the people of Earth after he had left. After he had come here and became the guardian in this perverted landscape, the name had felt fitting. Now that he had seen the corpse of his counterpart from this time, this universe, that resentment had become hatred. That corpse was not him, that name was no longer him, that was never him! Never again.
He looked at Gamora. He noticed she and everyone else had taken their distance, looking at him with a mixture of fear and expectation. Noticing that, he continued with a softer voice, although there was still anger simmering through: “Red Skull is the one over there, the one who died after his job was done. My name is Johann Schmidt, and that… That is not me! I do not want to be called that ever again.”
Gamora took a deep breath. “Johann, then. Sit down for a minute. This has to be a lot to take in, and you need to calm down. Just take a moment to come to terms with it all.”
Johann obeyed, resting his head in his hands as he tried to control his breathing and his shaking body.

“How did this happen?” Peter asked. “That’s his doppleganger!”
“Yes.” Thor said.
“But he’s dead. Shouldn’t he be dead too?”
“I think it’s because my- the sacrifice happened a long time ago here.” Gamora said.
Thor nodded. “When there was no stone anymore to guard, the soul stone had no more reason to keep him alive, I suspect.”
“But right now it has no use for you either, right? Why didn’t it kill him- Johann from afar too? I mean, the stone wants all of you, well...” Peter moved his finger past his throat.
“I don’t think it can.” Gamora said. “Look. The body has been pierced. The hole looks like it could belong to one of those shards. I think it sent her shades here, to kill him. Maybe they got Johann and this one mixed up, like they mixed up me and the other Gamora.”
Johann got up. “It does not matter. I am alive, and he is not. Let us go. We still need to find something about the soul stone itself. There are a few regions of this place that I have not yet seen. I shall point you to them.”
“And what are you going to do?” Gamora asked.
“Myself and Nebula will go to the place below the cliff, where the sacrifices end up. Perhaps we will find something over there.”
Everyone nodded in response. Red Skull sent the other three out to the plains, and he himself looked at Nebula. “After you,” he said, pointing to a staircase hidden by some rocks. She descended the staircase, and he did the same. Onward to a place reeking of death.

“It smells like something died here.” Nebula said, looking around carefully.
“Someone did. Multiple people did, including your sister.” Johann said.
“Yes, but… She isn’t dead anymore. It was a long time ago too.”
“Her corpse still decayed here. Its scent still lingers. When Gamora was pulled out of the soul realm, an entirely new body was reconstructed for her. It looked exactly like the one she had before she died, but it was still a new one while the old one remained here.”
“Lovely.” Nebula responded. She suddenly saw an opening in the cliff. “Over there. It looks like some sort of cave.”
Johann slowly walked toward toward it. Nebula followed, her batons drawn. She looked inside, and saw…
“Nothing,” she said, sighing.
“I would not say nothing, fraulein. Look. That seems like a bed of sorts.” Johann pointed to a stone rectangle in the middle of the cave.
“It kind of does? But who would live here?” Nebula said, sceptically. “It could’ve formed naturally.”
“I do not think so. It is a bit dark in here, so you might not be able to see, but there are markings on it. Like someone carved them on there. Someone must have lived here. It would not surprise me if that person is the same person as in Herr Thor’s story.”
Nebula looked closer and finally noticed tiny carvings on the sides of the ‘bed’. There were carvings that seemed as if they were symbols to a long forgotten language, another carving was a drawing of a woman with a sword in her hand. Above her a stone seemed to rain down something upon her. Johann was probably right. If Thor’s story held any truth, and that woman, the bearer, was still alive… This must have been where she had lived for the past year.

She headed back outside, but noticed some smears on the walls. Following them, she saw a huge boulder on the right side of the entrance, inside of the cave. Tracks on the ground seemed to indicate it had moved from the entrance. The smears on it told her exactly how it had moved. Curiously enough, there were smears on both sides of the stone.
“She clawed her way out,” Nebula said. “That boulder was moved with her strength, first in front of the entrance, then back to where it came from.”
“But… Why? Why would she do that? Why would someone seal their cave and make it so that they could not get out easily?” Johann asked.
“I don’t know,” Nebula said. “But I think we are dealing with a very dedicated henchwoman.”

“It works!” Bruce exclaimed. He looked at the machine in front of him, which spit out orange glowing pieces into an iron bucket.
“I am Groot?” Groot said as he walked in, followed by Rocket who sped toward Bruce.
“I’ll be damned. We really made it work. And you’re sure it doesn’t just look like the other stuff?” Rocket asked. Bruce shook his head in response.
“I’m sure, I ran some tests. This stuff is in every way identical to the material from the shards.”
“Great! Groot figured out a way to form the stuff into weapons. We can get started on making that immediately.”
Bruce nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the machine in front of him. It had cost them several sleepless nights and a lot of frustration, but the machine finally worked. They had a means of fighting back. A way of saving everyone, Red Skull and Gamora and…
“Any progress?” Natasha asked as she walked in, followed by Drax, Mantis and Gamora. “We haven’t been able to find any way to track the stone or its minions, so I could use some good news.”
Bruce turned around and nodded. “We just did it, the machine is working and it’s making more of the material as we speak.”
Natasha smiled, her face brightening up. “Thank god.”
“We’ve also figured out a way to make these tiny bits into big weapons. Groot and I can start making those, we just need to collect the materials,” Rocket said. He swapped the iron bucket under the machine, which was nearly filled with fragments, with another one. “Come on, Groot. Let’s make sure we can actually use this stuff.”
“I am Groot,” Groot responded, taking the bucket from Rocket. The two headed toward the exit.

Just before they left, Rocket turned around. “Anything specific we need to make?”
“As long as it’s sharp,” Natasha said.
“Maybe we could also interrogate one of those shades? In that case, it would be a good idea to capture one, so maybe a chain or net?” Bruce asked.
Rocket looked at Natasha. She seemed to think about it for a while, then nodded. “Not sure if those things are capable of speech, but we can at least try. Do it.”
Rocket nodded in response and headed out.
Bruce looked at Natasha. “Anything else you guys needed?”
She averted her eyes to the ground.“We were wondering if you had heard anything from Red and the others?”
“No, I didn’t,” Bruce said. As he spoke, the sound of a spacecraft came from outside. “But I think they just arrived.”
Natasha chuckled softly, then said: “Let’s go see what they found then.”

As the doors to the spaceship opened, everyone walked out with a dull expression on their face. “What happened?” Natasha asked, feeling concerned. Red Skull walked past her. “Red?”
“Please, Frau Romanoff, refer to my by my given name. I do not wish to hear that… slur ever again.” Johann said.
“I’m sorry, Johann. But, what happened?”
“We found his corpse, that’s what happened! Furthermore, the lady who we wanted to find proof of life of apparently clawed her way out of her cave!” Peter yelled.
“I’m sorry, Nat. Everything there… None of us really liked it. We found the corpse of Red Skull from this timeline, then we… well, we found the place the bearer most likely lived for the past… centuries? We’re not sure. All we know is she was living in a cave which was closed up with a boulder,” Gamora said with a solemn expression on her face while she placed her hand on Peter’s shoulder.
“What?”
“We have nothing truly useful. I’m sorry. Did you guys at least find something?”
“Well, we came up empty with the search, but Bruce, Rocket and Groot managed to replicate the material from the shard. Rocket and Groot had an idea of how to mold it into weapons we could actually use. They should be working on that right now.”
Gamora nodded. As the group prepared to head back in, Mantis suddenly pointed toward the sky. “Did you bring someone with you?”
Everyone looked at the sky, seeing a large ship descend. The doors opened and orange shapes dropped out of the ship.
Gamora looked at it with her eyes wide open and drew her swords. “We did not. I think they invited themselves. Run!”

Chapter Text

Rocket looked at the forge in front of him. “This was a genius plan, Groot. With this, we’ll have that chain done in no time!”
“I am Groot!” Groot exclaimed cheerfully as he swung the hammer down on the material. A tiny length of chain was already visible.
Suddenly they heard a rumbling sound from outside. Rocket looked up and said: “Huh. I guess Quill, Gamora and the others are back.”
“I am Groot?”
“Nah, we’ll say hello when they come see us. No rush, I’m sure they’re all fine. ‘Sides, I think this has priority. I’m gonna go grab another bucket of the stuff. We’re almost out of our first batch,” Rocket said. He walked out of the room, leaving Groot behind with the smithy.

Groot cheerfully continued working, until the door flew open. The entire group came stumbling in, like they were running from something.
“I am Groot?” he asked, distraught.
“We are under fucking attack! The soul stone sent all of its shades. They must’ve hijacked a ship or something, but they’re here and they are not happy to see us. Please tell me you’ve finished making the weapon,” Natasha said.
“I am Groot,” he responded, gesturing toward the forge.
“Shit.” Natasha said. She turned around, barely managing to do so with all the people around her.
“I think we need to split up. If we haven’t got a forged weapon right now we need to make sure we pick shards up from the shades themselves. Another reason to split up is the fact that this room is way too small for all of us,” Gamora said.
Natasha nodded. “I agree. We’re splitting into three groups. Gamora, Peter, Nebula, Drax and Bruce, you guys are our front lines. Try to take out as many as you can.” The group nodded and headed out. Natasha continued: “Johann, Mantis, Gamora from the other timeline: you are damage control. Keep a clear vision of the battlefield and make sure we’re alerted of any things happening. If any manage to get through, you take care of them. Clint and I will try to find a way into the ship, see if we can’t find their leader and take them out. If there even is a leader. Groot…” Rocket walked in as she spoke. “Good, Rocket, you’re here too. You and Groot, finish this thing as soon as possible. When you have, it’s your job to capture one of these things. Clear?”
Everyone else nodded in response. They walked out, leaving Rocket and Groot alone with the forge. “Alright. Let’s get this weapon ready, Groot!” Rocket said. He dumped the bucket on the fire and started smelting it.

Things were crazy, Clint thought. Natasha and he ran through a chaos of shards and smoke. On one side, Drax was using a shard as a club, which somehow proved quite effective in killing the shards. On his other side Banner was just throwing shards at the shades as if they were pebbles.
There were a lot of shades. The pair tried to evade them, but they did not manage to escape all of them. There were just a few they had to fight off. Still, compared to the rest of the horde… “Where are those things coming from? There have to be hundreds of them? This is like the Chitauri all over again!” he said to Nat.
“I have no idea. We’re nearly at the ship though. Come on, let’s see if we can’t find a way in.” she said.
A shade suddenly ran past them. Clint furrowed his brows. Weird, he thought. Why would it ignore them? He shook his shoulders and continued on their path. They had more important things to worry about.

Johann looked over the battlefield, looking for patterns, strays, anything. Nothing. The shades didn’t seem to be thinking, they just attacked. No matter what happened to the others, they kept on fighting, trying to wound or kill them. Well, they were not attacking just anyone… The two Gamora’s attracted most of them. The stone must have made her their main target, he thought to himself. He supposed he was lucky it was not him.
Suddenly he noticed a smaller shade speeding. It was acting weird, not paying attention to anyone else. With a shock, Johann noticed it was running toward him, his head fixed in his direction. Not only that, but its shape looked… kind of familiar.
“Mein Gott…” he said. “It can not be. Nein!” What the hell was happening? It looked like a Linarian. And the way the shade moved, the size and shape… “Killir?” he said, unable to believe his eyes. Yet he felt certain of it. This was, or had been, his friend. What had happened to him?
Killir was getting closer and closer, and Johann knew he had to move. He turned around and ran. Mantis asked him why.
“Frau Mantis, that… Please, notify Natasha and your Gamora. A friend of ours, he… He has become one of them. Tell them one of the shades is Killir.” he said shakily. When he looked behind him, the shade was getting closer still. Mantis nodded, her eyes big with wonder. He kept running.
He arrived inside the building, moving through its hallways. What to do? He could not… He could not kill Killir! He knew once he would have, but not anymore. He had said so. Never again. But what should he do? He knew Killir wouldn’t hesitate, if he truly was under the soul stone’s control… or maybe it was not even Killir. Maybe the shades formed to the shape of people from their memories? But…
It didn’t matter. He would not destroy the shade. But he could capture it, he thought as he recalled the weapon. If he had seen correctly, it was some sort of chain. Besides, Natasha had ordered Rocket and Groot to capture a shade with it. That meant the weapon could be used to capture his friend.
With that purpose in mind he ran toward the room Rocket and Groot had been in. Before long he arrived, panting as he stopped running.
Rocket turned around. “What’s going on?”
“Is… Is the weapon ready? I need it to… to capture a shade,” he said, still trying to regain his breath.
“I was just about to send word it was, actually. Which shade?”
“The one behind me. Give it!” Johann said.
Rocket blinked, then turned around and picked something up. He turned back toward Johann and handed him a chain, its length about the same as Johann’s height.
“Thank you,” Johann said as he turned back around. He saw a flash of orange run up to them. He threw the chain and prayed it was indeed the right person.

He didn’t know why he was chasing this person.
In the back of his mind, a voice told him to go after someone else, someone with green skin. Somehow though, he knew he wanted to chase the person with red skin. Who was he? Did it matter? The person was running from him, and he wanted to catch him.
Suddenly the person disappeared from sight. It didn’t matter. He knew where he was anyway. He kept running.
The person stopped, and he kept running.
He saw the person, and he kept running.
The person turned around and threw something. He kept running, until suddenly something wrapped around his legs and…
It was like a fog had lifted. Killir looked around and saw Red Skull standing in front of him. How had this happened? Why had he been chasing… He suddenly remembered what had happened back at his ship, some time ago. How he had been…
“Killir?” Red Skull interrupted his thoughts.
Killir tried to speak, but it didn’t work. It didn’t…
“Please, Killir. Can you speak? If you can not, just nod if you understand me?”
Killir nodded enthusiastically. Red Skull exhaled in relief.
“It is me, Johann. What... What happened to you?”
Killir slid his hand along his throat.
“You were killed? By who?”
Killir gestured to himself, then outside.
“You killed yourself? Or… Wait. The soul stone?”
He wobbled his hand.
“Sort of... Its bearer?”
He shook his shoulders.
“You don’t know. Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re free from them now.” Johann said.
Killir tried to smile, but he couldn’t. He nodded again. He didn’t mind. He had his own thoughts again. Everything was fine.

“What? Which one of your servants has escaped our grasp?” Alyish said. She turned her head. “Ah. The new one. Do not worry, mistress. He will be back under our control soon.” She closed her eyes and searched. Where was their renegade soldier?

Killir felt something pulling at him, trying to force the fog back in. No! he thought. No! He started shaking and hitting things that weren’t there, trying to keep his mind to himself. He raised his head at Johann, praying he would help him.

Johann looked at Killir, pained. It seemed his friend was suddenly being forced to something he did not want. Was it the chain? What...
Then, Killir raised his head and seemed to look at him, pleading. He extended his hand toward him. Johann hesitated for a moment. What if it was a trap? That, however, did not match with the other shades’ behaviour. He put his hand in Killir’s, and to his surprise Killir’s hand disappeared into his. Killir’s arm followed, then his shoulder, then the rest of his body.
Johann knew that behind him Rocket and Groot were watching. They were most likely horrified, but he, strangely, was not afraid at all. He did not know what was happening, but he felt it was fine. Killir would not hurt him.

He had expected something, he had to admit. But, even after every part of Killir’s shade had evaporated, there was still nothing. Disappointed, Johan went to pick up the chain.
That went different than I thought it would.
Johann blinked. What? he thought. That had not been him.
I’m in your brain. What the fuck.
Killir?
Yep, it’s me.
You are in my head.
I am.
How?
I have no idea. They were trying to force me back, and I didn’t want to go. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I needed help. I wasn’t actually asking for you to hold my hand, but it turns out it’s good you did.
They are gone now?
Yep. Completely gone. Don’t think I can leave anytime soon though. You’re gonna be stuck with me, I’m afraid.
If that is what it takes to save you… so be it. I must admit, I am kind of glad you are not completely dead.
My body is.
I am sorry about that.
Don’t be. Wasn’t your fault. It was that lady’s.
What lady?
“You okay?” a voice suddenly asked? Johann turned around and looked at Rocket, who seemed slightly concerned.
“Yes. I am fine.”
“Good. Kind of thought you were taken over by that shade.’
“Not taken over. He has, however, taken up residence in my head now. But, it is fine. He is a friend.” Johann responded. Rocket raised a brow.
“Quill’s my friend but I wouldn’t want him inside of my head. Well, whatever you’re comfortable with. Can I have that chain back?”
Johann went to pick it up. “Here you go,” he said as he handed it over.
“Great. Now, Groot: let’s go kill some of those shades. If you want to, you can join in, guardian,” Rocket said. Groot joined him and the two walked down the corridor.
Sounds like a decent plan, Killir said.
It does. Shall we join them?
Great idea!

Chapter Text

Natasha looked through the ship. She had been in more spaceships than she had ever thought she would ever be, but still every ship managed to look strange and incredibly hostile. She supposed that this ship was indeed hostile, at least for her. She doubted anyone they found would be friendly. She snickered at the idea of a friendly shade.
Clint softly asked: “What’s funny?”
“I was just thinking about those shades, if there was an overly friendly one. It’s a funny image to see in your head,” she replied softly.
Clint frowned, then grinned too. “It is.”
Natasha looked at the hallway ahead. “This one’s empty as well. No one seems to be in the entire ship.”
“Someone has to, right?” Clint whispered.
Natasha shook her shoulders and moved on.

There really wasn’t anyone, Clint thought. They had almost seen the whole ship, but not a shade in sight. They only had one place left to search: the cockpit. As they headed in the that direction, Clint looked at his friend. She looked sad, and not just because of the situation. He knew she had had an argument with Bruce. The scientist had looked equally sad, and Clint… He did not know what to do. He knew how he would have tried to solve it had it been him and Laura, but for some reason he felt that wasn’t the solution here.
He shook himself out of his thoughts. He needed to pay attention, this was not a school field trip where you could just dream away. Natasha gestured toward a door, and he opened it as he walked there.

Entering the cockpit they found it just as deserted as every other part of the ship. Natasha looked disappointed. “I had really expected someone to be here. Who the hell steered the ship here?”
Clint shook his head. “Wish I knew. Maybe someone piloted it remotely?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Anyway, let’s place the tracker.”
“We’re giving them the option to run away?”
“Yes, we are, so we can locate their base… hopefully. Then we can take care of them once and for all.”
“I thought Vormir…”
“No. They searched it, they would have told us if they had found something like that. This is the plan. C’mon.”
Clint shrugged and followed her lead. Natasha handed him a bug and pointed toward a steering system on the other side. “We need to place that inside of that. I’ll take the other side, for redundancy.”
While Clint busted open the console, he looked around and searched for a place where he could put the small piece of machinery he was holding. Within a few moments he saw a spot and placed the bug.

“It’s placed. It’s a pretty nice tracker. Did Bruce make it?” he asked. Nat flinched.
“I think so,” she said flatly.
Clint hesitated but decided to press on. “What happened between you two? I know things are awkward, but…”
“I really don’t want to talk about this right now, Clint.”
“But I think you need to.”
Natasha jerked around and glared at him. “Why is that?”
“Come on, Nat. You know why. You’ve been sad and angry at him ever since a few days ago. I think maybe you need to get it off your chest. I wasn’t able to save you on Vormir-”
“I chose to not be saved.”
“-but I might be able to help now. At least talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Natasha…”
“Fine! You want to know? He told me he loved me. He told me that, after everything that happened. Like it didn’t matter he’d thrown me aside. Like the entire chasm he allowed to grow between us wasn’t there,” she yelled, her eyes burning.
“But… he does love you. Everyone knows that. Why shouldn’t he say that? I know there was a distance, but he needed time to himself…”
“I know that. But I tried so hard to be there for him, to help him, and he… He just pushed me away, scared or whatever. I know he needed help, he needed to figure things out but I could have helped with that. Right? I… I just don’t see why, after all this time, I need to fall right back into his arms after he pushed me away, just because he says he loves me.”
Clint blinked. “I… But don’t you love him? I get what you’re saying, but… haven’t you both suffered enough?”
“I do love him, but you heard me. It’s just… It’s hard. I want to be with him but I can’t forgive him.”
“Did you tell him that?”
Natasha shot him another glare. “Get out of here with your logic.”
“You know I’m right. Nat, you’re one of the smartest people I know, but you’re not handling this well. Just tell him what you just said. Tell him you were hurt. Listen to him and let him listen to you. After that, you can decide what to do.” Clint said. He saw Nat’s eyes soften.
“Fine. I’ll… see if I can have a conversation with him soon. But we’ve been distracted too long. We…” She suddenly trailed off. “What is Johann doing?” she asked, pointing to the battlefield.

Gamora grunted as she drove a shard through another shade. The mass of orange smoke seemed endless, another shade attacking her every time she turned around. On her left Peter was doing his best to use the shard he had picked up effectively, but he was saved by Bruce more than once. She kind of pitied Peter, knowing he would have much rather used his guns. On her right, Drax was raging with a big smile on his face. He seemed in his element, though she saw he was getting tired as well.
She dodged another shard and threw the one she had been holding, hitting yet another shade. This is taking too long, she thought to herself. They have the upper hand, it won’t be long before we’re overrun. She picked up a shard and drove it through a shade moments before it would have let down its weapon on Peter’s head. Starlord turned around, saw the shade disappear and smiled apologetically. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Are you doing okay?”
“This is not really the way I prefer to fight, but I’m doing well enough I think. Bruce helped me a few times.”
“I saw.”
“Yeah…” Peter responded. His eyes suddenly moved to the entrance of the building. “Look, there’s Rocket and Groot!”
“Great! We could use the help.” Gamora said, her face lighting up. “There’s Johann too!”

The pair kept looking at the trio of people walking toward the battlefield. Gamora and Peter made their way to the edge of the battle, toward the them. Suddenly they saw Johann move his hand toward the ground in the same manner the shades did when they summoned their shards. Sure enough, just like the shades Johann summoned a shard from the ground. Gamora’s eyes widened. What the hell? Did he turn? Were Rocket and Groot running from him? She turned to Peter and yelled: “Go back! He might have become one of them!”
They saw Johann raise his shard into the air and look around. His gaze fixed on her. He gestured in her direction and sent the shard flying. Gamora froze, unable to believe her eyes. He had betrayed them. When did he get those capabilities?
She blinked when she saw the shard fly past her instead of through her. It flew through three shades who had somehow conveniently lined up. When she looked back, Johann, Rocket and Groot had arrived near her. “How did you do that?” Gamora yelled at Johann.
“I think I should explain later, fraulein. We have more pressing matters right now, do we not?” Johann responded.
“You’re right.” Gamora said begrudgingly. “In that case, let’s go!”

Natasha and Clint looked from the cockpit as more and more shades disappeared. “The battle is going our way,” Clint said.
“Looks like it. I will need to have a discussion with Johann though. I want to know what happened to him that he’s now able to create those shards. Had we known that before…”
Clint nodded in response. Natasha turned around. “First we need to go out there ourselves. We found nothing of interest in the ship, we planted the trackers… Now we need to join the battle too. Come on,” she said as she headed through the doors. Clint followed her.

Aliyish felt rage as she looked through the eyes of one of the shades. One by one the soldiers of her Mistress fell. Before long she was cut off from the shade she looked through as well, as one of their targets - the green woman - drove a shard through it. “Mistress.” she said. “I am sorry, they are too strong for the shades alone. If you give me permission, I shall bring them back so that I may fight with them again later. I shall emerge victorious. I will bring glory to you.” She felt an approving tug at her thoughts. Nodding to herself, she gave the order. All had to fall back, to ensure victory later.

Johann looked surprised as all shades suddenly pulled back into the ship. “What…” he exclaimed. In his head, Killir was strangely quiet, only saying they would be back. Everyone looked at the ship as it flew up into the sky and blasted off.
“Did we beat them?” Gamora asked.
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right,” Natasha said softly.
“Well, they left. That means we won, right?” Clint asked.
“For now. I do not doubt they will be back,” Johann said, citing Killir’s warning.
“We need to be ready then. Care to tell us when you picked up your new trick?” Natasha asked, turning toward Johann.
“Yeah. How did you manage to create shards? You’re not one of them, are you?”
“I… I have an explanation. Something happened…”

“... and as we walked outside, Killir told me to try creating a shard. When I tried, it worked to my amazement, which resulted in the scene you saw,” Johann finished his tale.
Gamora looked at him with a mixture of surprise and pity. “Can he hear us?” she asked. Johann nodded, and she continued: “I’m sorry, Killir. This was our fault.”
Johann remained quiet for a moment, then spoke: “He says it was not. He chose to leave us, and no one could have known they would come after him too. He says to ‘cheer up’”
Natasha surprised everyone as she chuckled out loud. “I’m sorry,” she said, “it’s just that you captured him perfectly, Johann.”
Her face straightened. “Jokes aside, we need to find out how to work with this. As far as we know, you two are now joined forever. At least we know how the shades are created.”
Thor nodded. “If any one of us falls to them, they will join its army.”
“So we need to prevent that at all costs. Groot, Rocket, good work on the chain. Think you can create more with Johann’s help?”
“I am Groot.”
“Pretty sure we can. You want more chains?” Rocket asked.
“No. I want swords. And bullets, if that’s possible.”
“I can try and work on that,” Bruce said.
Natasha nodded. “Let’s assume we have a day. If we have more, good, but I have a feeling we won’t.”
“I agree with that, and so does Killir. He says we also should prepare to face their leader, a woman who calls herself Aliyish.”
“A leader? Or a commander?” Gamora asked.
“She is the second in command, but also the first is. At least, that is what Killir says. It is complicated.”
“If the soul stone took over her, it’s probably muddled.” Thor said.
“What do you want the rest of us to do?” Clint asked.
“Prepare. I don’t know. Help Rocket, Johann or Bruce. Train. Say goodbye, if you think that’s necessary. Just make sure that at noon tomorrow you are ready to fight. All right?”
Everyone nodded. “Then go get ready. Gamora-” she pointed at the Gamora she meant, “-and Johann, can you stay for a while? I’ve got some things to discuss about our strategy.” Everyone dispersed, leaving behind the trio.

“You’ve got a plan?” Gamora asked.
“Not completely. But, Johann and Killir, I want you two to lead the front lines. Keep an eye out for any other hunches. If you’ve got one, Killir, I want to know. Gamora, I would like you to lead the support lines. Make sure everyone’s in fighting shape. Take Bruce and Peter for that. If someone’s wounded or needs more weaponry, I want you to take care of that. If there’s no need for something like that, you’re fighting too.”
Both nodded. “So, what is your plan?” Johann asked.
“I would really like your help with that…” Natasha smiled apologetically.
“Sure.” Gamora smiled.
“We have got your back. Shall we head inside?”

Chapter Text

Johann sat down on one of the cots they set up in the main hall. There was a lot to take in. First, Killir was dead. Now, he was part of him..
Sure am, buddy.
I’m trying to think here.
Yeah, so am I. Appears being two people in one body means you also share your whole mental existence. Who’da thunk?
Your sarcasm is not appreciated.
What did you want to think about?
Killir… what happens if we destroy the soul stone? For good? Will you… will you disappear as well?
I dunno. I ever seem like a psychologist or scientist to you?
I am worrying about you, if you hadn’t noticed. But if you don’t want me to, then feel free to…
No! I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m scared too, ya know. But even if I manage to stay, what then? We spend eternity in your body, together?
We could. I don’t mind your company.
That’s gay, dude. Not that I mind, but at least buy me dinner first.
Alarm bells started rinkling in Johann’s mind. These things were forbidden! They were bad, dirty, against everything he ever stood for…
And yet you can’t help but love me.
Love is for children, and I certainly do not love you.
Sure you don’t. You’re just offering your whole body and every last bit of privacy up to me, just to keep me alive. Sentient.
What else am I supposed to do? Just expell you?
For some reason I feel the man you once were would have done that without a second thought.
I am not the man I once was.
Then why are you worried about anything? Just do whatever the fuck you want. Whoever the fuck you want. Don’t keep yourself to idiot standards you had when you were that man. It’s about you.
And you. What do you want, Killir?
Preferably? A body of my own again. After that, I’d probably stay with you this time. I think I’m safer that way. Although I would like to travel with you…
You want to stay with me? That… that is also gay, Killir.
Never said I wasn’t. But just take your time. If you want me to stay quiet for a bit, I will. Just know that I’ll be here, no matter what. You don’t have a choice. Think about whether you want me to stay. I’ll know when you’re done.
Johann smiled. Thanks, Killir
Yer welcome, Johann.

Bruce inhaled and exhaled as he stood in front of the door, gathering his courage. He’d fought aliens, built time machines, and yet… he was terrified of talking to a girl - woman. It was eight grade all over again.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened. Gamora walked out, and inside he saw Nat, who looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“Hi Bruce. Bye Nat!” Gamora said as she walked past him.
Bruce directed his attention to the woman in front of him. “Nat? Can I come in?”
Natasha sighed. “Sure, come on in.”
As Bruce sat down, she spoke: “I think I owe you an apology.”
Bruce furrowed his brows. “For what?”
“For walking out on you after your grand declaration of love. I should have just explained what was going through my head instead of getting angry.”
“No, I shouldn’t have dropped that on you. It wasn’t fair.”
She smiled wryly. “I guess we both have made mistakes.”
“Not very few either.”
“Fuck no.” They smiled. Natasha then looked more sullen as she said: “I don’t think I can forgive you.”
Bruce’s eyes widened in shock: “For what?”
“For abandoning me like that, after the snap. After… After everything we went through, we still had each other. We were together, could have been, but you…”
“I left. And I’m sorry about that, Natasha, but I had to. You know I did.”
“Then why didn’t you make an effort after? When… You know I would never have turned you down.”
“You’re turning me down now, aren’t you?”
“That’s your interpretation. And you are avoiding my question. Why didn’t you try when you had found yourself and Hulk?”
“Did you want me to? You seemed to avoid me ever since the snap.”
“I wanted to give you space, I saw you needed that. You pushed me away first.”
“I think we pushed each other away. I know I should have made an effort, but it’s not just on me. It’s on both of us.”
Natasha smiled sadly. “Missed our window.”
Bruce looked her in the eyes and asked: “Did we?”
“I don’t know.”
Bruce kept looking at her, more sadness appearing in his eyes.
“I don’t know, Bruce. I… A week ago I was dead. I had sacrificed myself, not expecting to see anyone ever again. Now I’m back, I have a second chance at everything, but I don’t… I don’t know if I can do this. I mean, can you?”
“I want to. I’ll try, if you let me Nat. If you let me in again. We can try, all over again.”
“Who’s to say we won’t fail?”
“If we fail, then we fail. But what if we succeed? I love you, Natasha. I think you love me too. If you can’t forgive me, that’s alright. But please, let me try. Let’s at least try again.”
“There’s no fresh start Bruce. There’s still so much pain…”
“We’ll work through the pain together. Or try. And we probably need therapy anyway, so…”
“You haven’t done that already?” Natasha smiled wryly.
“I have, but I’m still working through things, you know. Everyone’s a little messed up, all the time. Sometimes you just need more help than other times. But, do you want to try?”
“You’re right, you know. I do love you. Let’s try. After tonight, let’s go. Together. We’ll try. But I can’t promise anything.”
“I don’t need promises. We’re just gonna try.”
Natasha smiled, shedding a few tears. She saw Bruce also cry, she supposed in relief. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?” she said, laughing.
“We are. But at least we’re together,” Bruce said, smiling. “Now, I need to get back to the lab. Thank you, Nat. I’ll make you happy. I promise.”
“I don’t need promises. We’re just gonna try,” Nat winked. “Speaking about trying…” She reached for his shirt and pulled him in as she kissed him on the cheek. “See you later Bruce.”
Bruce felt himself blushing furiously as he saw himself out.
Walking through the hallway he noticed a door rattling. As he opened the door, Gamora and Peter fell out of a maintenance closet. Peter’s hair was disheveled, and his hands were holding… Bruce quickly averted his eyes. “I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt. Carry on!”

As Bruce hurried back to his lab, Peter looked at Gamora teasingly. “Miss me that much, did you?”
Gamora rolled her eyes in response as she pulled him back up and into the maintenance closet. “I’ll show you just how much I missed you, idiot.”

When they finally emerged a while later, they entered the central hall only to find Gamora waiting for them. “Gamora! Could we speak for a moment?” she asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind.” Gamora responded.
Gamora turned her attention to Peter: “Think you can let go of her for a while?”
“I’d prefer not to, honestly, but sure. Do what you need to do.”
Gamora smiled at Gamora and nodded to a table in the corner. As they sat down together, Gamora started speaking. “Listen, this is weird. Honestly, I would prefer to be on the other side of the universe from now on, but then you decided to get out of the soulstone and… you know it too. Things got complicated.”
“Heh. That’s an understatement. Listen, I understand. Neither of us like this situation. But after this fight is over, you can do whatever you want.”
“People will still confuse me for you. You have a life, a background here. I don’t have that, but everyone I meet will assume I do.”
“We need a way for people to tell us apart.”
“We do. So, just give me a moment…” Gamora took out one of her swords and without hesitation sliced off her hair so that there was just a short bob left. “There. That’s better.”
“I won’t ask you if you’re sure about this. You wouldn’t have done this otherwise. But this won’t be enough, you know that.”
“This is only the first step. We also need another name for me. I went by several aliases in my universe. I was thinking about Requiem, but I don’t know if you’ve used that here.”
“I haven’t. I never needed an alias.”
“Then that’s my name now.”
“I know myself, and I would never want to give up the name my parents gave me. So why…”
“Because I’m sick of the confusion. And as I am the intruder in the universe I should change my name,” Requiem said.
“You could use one of our other names…”
“Won’t work. Everyone knows you, and while not everyone knows our full birth name, enough people will. An alias is better. Besides, I think our parents would prefer me living my life without your interference.”
“Harsh. You’re not wrong though, I guess. We still look exactly the same though, except for the hair.”
“Some other clothes should fix that enough so that people will hesitate. Besides, I’ll just be an unknown and coincidental doppelganger. Are you fine with this?” Requiem asked.
“I’m not the one changing herself. The question should be: are you fine with this?” Gamora responded.
“Not completely, but it’s only some minor things. I’ll be fine. Besides, nothing is permanent. I’ll be fine.”
Gamora was silent for a moment. Then, she asked: “Was that all you wanted to tell me?”
“No. I have a request. I want you all to leave me alone after this. Unless I approach you, don’t contact me. I don’t need you. It will only complicate my life here. So after we fight this fight, after this is done… let me go,” Requiem said with a solemn expression on her face.
“If that’s what you want. Just know, you don’t have to go. You can stay with us.”
“I don’t want to. I need to find my own path. So we have an agreement?”
“We do,” Gamora said.
“Thank you for understanding. Now, we have preparations to make. Are you interested in sparring a bit?”
“Fighting against myself? Sure. Should be interested,” Gamora grinned.

The call to arms came as no surprise to anyone. It was dawn as they headed to the windows to see the army descending upon them. In the back, they saw a woman. “Alyish…” Johann muttered.
“How fitting is this? Orange light for an orange stone,” Bruce said.
“Time to kick said orange stone’s ass,” Rocket said.
“Time to free ourselves,” Gamora whispered.
“Let’s go. Finish the job,” Natasha said. “To arms!”

Alyish looked at the compound in front of her. Today they would regret spurning her mistress. Today, they would reign supreme. She felt Her in the back of her mind, tugging and controlling. She shuddered to think at what might happen if they failed. She would not. They would not. She signalled one of the shades nearby. It was time to crush them.

Chapter Text

At the speed of light everyone gathered their weapons, all fitted as best as they could with the shards. Natasha looked over the people standing ready to attack. She spoke: “I know it’s corny, but there are no words for how grateful I am. Thank you all for standing with us, despite the battle ahead. I do hope it’ll be the last one for a while,” she chuckled. Everyone nodded and smiled. Natasha continued: “Anyway, now that that’s over with: we have one job. We need to get to that lady, Aliyish. If we get her, we’ll have leverage and hopefully that’s enough to get the three of us our get out of jail free card. Be safe everyone.”
Clint grinned: “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Natasha frowned: “What?”
“Steve isn’t here, so you have to say it.”
“You can’t mean…”
“Oh yes I do.”
Bruce chimed in: “He’s right. You should say it.”
“I won’t feel motivated otherwise,” Clint said with a wolfish grin.
“Jesus christ, fine,” Natasha responded. She looked at the battle ahead of them and as she ran into the fight she yelled:
“Avengers! Assemble!”

There was one hell of a lot of shades coming at them, Nebula thought. They were outnumbered at least ten to one and possibly more. Well. They had seen worse, she thought. Besides, the shades were easy enough to destroy. With the shards they were just like regular people, except slightly slower and a bit more vague. She saw Requiem fight three in front of her and rushed to help.
These things were damn annoying, but few of them actually knew how to fight. Requiem suspected it was based on who they were before death. Warriors stayed warriors, but peasants who were slaughtered by the stone were still peasants, just with a weapon in their clumsy hands. Up ahead she saw Clint shoot an arrow through one, the shade disappearing instantly. He smiled as he drew yet another arrow.
Did one just drop its weapon? Clint chuckled as he saw a shade hastily pick up the shard. He proceeded to shoot an arrow through it and turned it back to dust. No time for pity. He looked up at Natasha, who was running through the shades at the woman in the back.

Aliyish roared in pain and fear. Their soldiers were being struck down left and right. In rage she moved forward. She spotted a shade of red hair running toward her. The fugitive. The disobedient one who dared fight back against Them. She would pay. They would all pay. Aliyish drew her sword and moved forward. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

Clint looked in horror as he saw the woman suddenly fly toward Natasha. He cried out: “Nat!” as he saw the woman get close. He could not lose her again. He would not lose her again. He inhaled and drew an arrow. He aimed.
Exhaling he shot the arrow, straight into the arm of Aliyish, who cried out in pain. Natasha looked at him, horrified and yelled his name. For a moment he was shocked, then he felt a sharp pain through his back. With all of his strength he jabbed an arrow in the face of a shade as he turned around to kill his attacker. It dissolved into a puff of smoke and ash. He tasted that same ash in his mouth. Then a sharp, metallic taste. As he felt his vision turn black, he looked at Natasha. She had to save herself now. Well. She was good at that.

“Clint!” Natasha screamed as she saw her friend collapse. Bruce heard her cries and immediately headed for him, leaving her to fend for herself against the raging woman who was getting closer and closer. That woman was responsible for this. For all of this. For her best friend, who was bleeding out. For the thousands of people imprisoned in their own minds, fighting for this twisted cause. For her comrades, who were fighting for their lives as they tried to defend the three people who had managed to escape from their clutches.
As she was pumping herself up she suddenly saw a flash of orange as the woman appeared right in front of her. No more time to contemplate. Time to fight.
Aliyish was the first one to strike. She narrowly missed Natasha as she jabbed her sword at her, Natasha dodging. Natasha tried to stab her in the back on a fluid motion, but the woman had whirled around to block her dagger. She was not, however, prepared for Natasha’s other hand, which came crashing into her face while curled into a fist. Aliyish roared loudly in pain and frustration. Suddenly, as one, all shades turned around and headed for Natasha to the horror of her comrades.
Aliyish struck again, this time hitting the hardened leather of Natasha’s shoulder. She managed to graze her shoulder, Natasha wincing in response and moving her knife to Aliyish’ stomach. It hit, just barely, but as Aliyish responded in shock Natasha kicked upwards and twirled around to hold Aliyish with a knife at her throat.
“Stay back!” she yelled at the shades. “If you don’t, I will cut her throat before you can do shit.”
“You idiot! You have no idea what my death will cause!” Aliyish roared in response as she tried to get loose from Natasha’s grip.
“Rocket, you had chains, right? Help me tie her up,” Natasha said.

Natasha, Bruce and Rocket looked content at their handiwork. They had managed to chain Aliyish to a nearby pillar. The shades stayed back as Peter kept a gun aimed at Aliyish’ head. Clint had been taken away from the battle by Nebula, Groot and Thor who were trying to patch him up back in the lab.
“So. Now what?” Gamora asked.
“Now we end this,” Natasha responded.
Aliyish looked at her feet, sullen. “I have failed, mistress. Forgive me. I could not defeat them.”
“How do you propose we end this then, Frau Romanoff?” Johann asked.
“I don’t know. But now at least we have leverage, so that’s something,” Natasha said.
“The plan didn’t go much further than this. Thought we’d make it up once we got here,” Gamora admitted wryly.
“We could just kill her. I suppose that would make the soulstone think twice about this,” Johann suggested.
“No!”
Everyone looked in shock as suddenly a deep voice came from Aliyish’ mouth.
“What kind of sorcery is this?” Johann said.
“You shall not kill my charge. I forbid it!”
Natasha looked surprised at the woman. “Are you… what are you? The soulstone?”
“If you are, you don’t have a lot to bargain with here. We’ve got your ‘charge’,” Peter said.
“I will destroy all of you if you kill her! You absolutely are not allowed to kill her!”
Natasha narrowed her eyes. She looked at Gamora, who nodded at her with an understanding look. “You know what?”, Natasha said, “Bet.” She took the gun from Peter and charged it.
“No! I beg of you!” the voice screamed.
“Guessed as much. You can’t do anything if she’s dead, can you?” Gamora said.
“You know nothing, worm! Nothing! I am ancient, I am undying and I…”
“Shut up,” Natasha said as she shot one bullet right above the head of Aliyish. The voice roared in fear. “You have two minutes to convince us not to kill her. Go.”
“I will not be bullied into…”
“You don’t exactly have a strong position here. Tell us, now,” Gamora hissed.
“If you kill her, I shall disappear from this world too.”
“That sounds like a bargain,” Gamora smiled.
“No, you don’t understand. You don’t understand anything at all!” The soulstone turned to Johann. “You understand the consequences of my death, don’t you?”
Johann nodded gravely. “The infinity stones are not just objects. They are tied directly to the fabric of the universe. Destroying one would cause great harm which would take a long time to repair. As much as I hate to admit it, Fraulein, she does have a point.”
“But if we set them free we will never know peace. And if I understood you correctly, it can be repaired, it would just take time. Hmmm...” Natasha turned silent.
“If I may, how did this come to be? The other stones are… normal, aren’t they?” Bruce asked.
“None of your business... “ the stone started, but it hastily changed tone as Natasha looked at it with a warning glare: “We were bonded at the beginning. It’s why I need a sacrifice to appear. I need a soul to possess, otherwise I cannot exist.”
“Does that mean when Natasha and I were sacrificed, Aliyish ceased to exist?”
“It does not fully. She was put into a coma, so to speak. She is the vessel I need to return to should I be brought back.”
Natasha spoke again: “I think we should take the risk. If we leave you alive, you would just keep trying to kill us, wouldn’t you? So we kill her and find a way to repair the damage.”
“What are you saying child? Are you willing to near irreparably damage the universe to avoid your just punishment for breaking the rules?” the soulstone spoke exhasperated.
“I’m sorry, but I think you started, toots. The other stones don’t require a sacrifice. If you hadn’t gone outside of your book and merged yourself with Aliyish none of this bullshit would have happened,” Rocket said, growing increasingly impatient. “Now, are we going to take care of her or not?”

As everyone argued about what to do, Peter remained silent. He thought about his father and his powers. He thought about the stone and it’s connection to its wielder. Finally, he spoke: “I can fix you.”
Everyone turned silent and looked at him. Natasha spoke slowly: “What did you say?”
“I can fix this. I think, at least. I think I can separate you two.”
Gamora narrowed her eyes. “You know I love you Peter, but you don’t have any powers anymore. You ceased to be a celestial as soon as your father died.”
“I know, I know. But I could always feel bits and parts of it still floating around in me. Parts of his power, of…”, he gulped, “him. I wondered why, but now I think I know.”
“Peter… Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you ever say you struggled with something like this?” Gamora asked distressed.
“I only noticed after the snap, after… You know. You died. I think coming back from the snap is what gave me this back.”
Suddenly, the soulstone spoke: “You are a celestial.”
“I was half of a celestial. I was the son of Ego. And I think I can separate the two of you, using the last bits of this power still floating around inside of me.”
“Well, soulstone? What do you think?” Natasha asked.
“I… looking at him now… It could work. But I don’t know what it will do to me, or Aliyish.”
“Most likely it would turn Aliyish mortal again, to live out her life, and you would become like the other stones: not fully conscious, and only able to use your power through a wielder,” Johann said.
Natasha smiled. “Sounds like a good deal to me.”
“But what about Killir?” Johann asked, slightly distressed.
“Shit. You’re right. I… I don’t know,” Natasha said.
“Peter?” Johan inquired, desperate for good news.

Johann, it’s okay dude. I’m fine with leaving.
I am not fine with you leaving, so keep your mouth shut.
Dude. You people being safe is more important.
Let us wait for what the Celestial says first, no?
Peter seemed lost in thought. Suddenly, the soulstone spoke: “I can set everyone free. They can then choose to remain or to go.”
Johann looked suspicious. “Why would you do that?”
“Because life as a normal stone isn’t my first choice, but I see that I have the choice between a healthy universe or one that’s damaged by my death. I’ll choose the first option then. And to make sure you do too, I’ll release all of the souls in my service.”
Natasha spoke: “You’re not completely evil, are you. Not a complete monster?”
“No one is. And as an infinity stone, I have a duty to the universe. A duty I have been neglecting, I suppose. This is the way to make up for it.”
“It’s a good way.” Natasha looked at the people standing around her. “Are we all content with these terms? We separate the stone and Aliyish, give Aliyish a nice place to grow old and the stone releases all souls she enslaved.”
Gamora said: “I think we should ask Aliyish first. She also has a large say in it.”
“She will do as I ask,” the soulstone said.
“Sure, but we want to know what she wants, not what she’s prepared to do. If she wants something else, that’s her choice. Let us talk to her.”
The stone grumbled, but conceded.

Moments later, Aliyish spoke: “My mistress wants us to separate, and thus we will.”
Natasha raised her brows. “That’s not the way we do this. Speak freely. What do you want?”
Aliyish hesitated, then spoke: “If it’s alright with you… I do not wish to stay alive. Everyone I know is dead, and my Mistress is the only one I have had for a long time. I have seen more than anyone should. So if it’s alright with you… If we are separated, if I lose the only person left… then I do not wish to live either.”
“You realise we would take care of you, right? Make sure you’re not alone? You could live out your life, free from her,” Gamora said.
“I do. But I have lived too long already. Take me back to Vormir and let me die there, in peace. Please. I do not wish for living any longer than I already have.”
Bruce spoke softly: “If that’s what you really want, I doubt anyone will stop you. But realise there is another way. If you do that, and this is still what you want…”
Natasha continued: “then we won’t stop you.”
Aliyish nodded. “Thank you.”

Peter stepped in: “Do you need to say goodbye or anything? Otherwise, I’ll start right now.”
Aliyish nodded. “Give us a moment, please.”
“You’ll remain under guard, I’m afraid, but you can speak to each other freely. We won’t interfere,” Natasha responded. “Oh, but can she release the souls right now then? To make good on her word?”
Aliyish remained quiet for a moment, then spoke: “She has just done so. Let me give the soul inside of the guardian a bit of advice: You should be able to possess shards, so you might be able to use that if you wanted a body of your own.”
Around them, orange shades disappeared into a puff of thin smoke. Some took longer than others, but in the end, only Killir remained.

Well then, shall I leave too?
Killir!
I’m joking, dude. Do you remember what I looked like?
I do. You want me to construct a body for you?
Please do. No offense to you, but a mind to myself again seems nice.
None taken. I feel exactly the same.
Using his newfound power one last time, Johann constructed a body, looking completely like Killir’s old one. He felt a sigh of relief as Killir moved into the new body. It started moving.
“Look at me! I’m back, people!” Killir exclaimed happily.
“We missed you, Killir,” Gamora smiled.
“Welcome back!” Natasha said.
Before Killir could say anything Peter called them back.
“We’re ready!”
Natasha smiled: “Let’s go finish this.”

Peter stood silently with his hand on Aliyish’ forehead. He took a deep breath and felt the energies of the two beings within the body, the stone and the woman. He slowly started to untangle the two. It took effort. The two had been linked for so long their essences had started to melt together at several points. He carefully separated the places where they were joined together. Slowly but surely the two essences untangled…

Chapter Text

Natasha stood on the balcony, looking over the vibrant landscape in front of her. Despite the spaceship being dismantled in the back of the field and the damage to the house, things were quiet. Peaceful. In a more nearby corner of the field she saw the Guardians loading supplies into their ship, getting ready to leave. One particularly well sealed and well made box was carefully loaded in. It contained what remained of the soulstone. The Guardians had promised to make sure it would be safe.
Aliyish had already taken the final spaceship and taken off. Natasha hoped she would find happiness, one way or another. The woman deserved her rest after all these years. Requiem had joined her, although she would get off earlier. She too wanted her own life and her own space and had felt she wouldn’t get that with the guardians. The two would make an interesting pair and secretly Natasha hoped Requiem would be able to heal Aliyish and maybe show her a bit of the galaxy.
Johann and Killir had decided to stay here for a bit. Johann wanted to see Germany again and Killir had decided to join him. Their time in the same body had changed the two and connected them in a way Natasha hoped to have for herself one day.
Behind her she heard footsteps, a lot of them. The guardians walked in, Peter and Gamora hand in hand, Rocket arguing with Thor and Groot grunting like usual. Johann and Killir followed, talking to each other, Killir grinning like he just said something inaproppriate and Johann smiling wryly in response.
Clint walked in, smiling at her. He was still packed in with bandages and Nebula followed him closely, watching so he wouldn’t fall. Clint would also head home soon. He missed his family, but Natasha had promised to come by soon.
Closing the line was Bruce, heavy footsteps shaking the balcony. He walked toward her and stood next to her. They were still considering their future, but Natasha would remain here for the time being. They had a lot to work out after all. She felt his arm hesitantly put around her and smiled, leaning into Bruce a bit. She looked at Gamora and Johann, people who had now become two of her closest friends. Gamora smiled, saying: “You think we’re free now?”
Natasha laughed. “We’re not just free.” She looked at the ever expanding horizon and felt the arm of the man she loved around her. She thought of the people she loved, most of whom were here, some of whom were elsewhere. And for the first time ever she felt at peace. “We’re home.”