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Chapter Text

Endgame

            The familiar surroundings of the Avengers compound was a welcome sight to Loki’s eyes. It also brought a pang of sadness to him. He’d been able to properly say goodbye to his parents. It was bittersweet but at least he’d finally had some form of closure.

            “Did we get them all?” Banner asked, breaking into his thoughts.

            “You telling me this’ll actually work?” Rhodey asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

            He looked around at everyone, doing a silent count and realizing one person was missing. He wasn’t the only one who noticed.

            “Clint,” Banner asked, “where’s Nat?”

            Barton was kneeling with his head bent low. “She’s gone.”

            “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

            Barton held up his hand, revealing an orange stone. “The Soul Stone... it...”

            “It required a soul,” Loki said. The realization sitting like led in his stomach.

            The collective cry echoed throughout the room. “What?”

            “A soul for a soul,” Barton said solemnly.

            The room went silent as the loss of their teammate sunk in. Something caught Loki’s eye and he turned to see Nebula but… He called his daggers to him dropping into a fighting stance. “Who are you?”

            “What the hell are you doing?” Rocket asked.

            “That isn’t Nebula.”

            “What are you talking about? Of course that’s Nebula and you ain’t about to attack her!”

            “That is not the Nebula who left with us,” Loki replied, not taking his eyes off the imposter.

            “You are imagining things,” the imposter said. “I am Nebula.”

            Thor brought Mjölnir to bear, dropping into his own fighting stance. “If Loki says you’re an imposter then I believe him.” To the rest of the room Thor said, “Loki’s seiðr allows him to see with more than his eyes. If he says she isn’t the Nebula of this time then she’s not.”

            Imposter-Nebula’s expression remained blank for only a moment before it twisted into a sneer. “You always were a pain in the ass,” she growled.

            Loki smirked, “Ruining your day was one of my limited pleasures while on Sanctuary.”

            Imposter-Nebula turned and leapt from the platform. Loki made to throw a dagger when a beam of lightning shot out, striking the imposter in the back, sending her tumbling to the ground. Loki turned to his brother.

            “What?” Thor asked, lowering Mjölnir. “It worked, didn’t it?”

            Loki rolled his eyes, returning his daggers to his dimensional pocket. He snapped his fingers and the imposter rose from the ground, the green of Loki’s seiðr wrapped around her tightly. She remained limp as Loki none to gently forced her into a nearby chair, securing her to it tightly.

            “So uh…” Rhodey said from his place on the platform. “If that’s not the Nebula who left, then where is our Nebula?”

            Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, not really wanting to contemplate the consequences of what he was about to say. “She must still be back in 2014.”

            A wave of pain suddenly washed over him. It felt as if someone was trying to drive an ice pick through his skull. Loki cried out, grabbing his head as images flashed across his vision. He vaguely heard his name being called before strong arms wrapped around him to keep him from face planting the floor. Bile rose in his throat and he managed to turn his head away as the contents of his stomach decided to make a reappearance.

            “The hell was that?” Tony asked as Loki’s vision began to clear.

            “I don’t know,” replied Thor’s worried voice.

            The pain in his head finally dissipated. Loki wiped his mouth and with a flick of his seiðr vanished the mess on the floor. He turned back to Tony, eyes narrowed. “What the Hel happened in New York?”

            Tony’s eyes went wide and color entered his cheeks. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Really?”

            “Yep, everything went off without a hitch.” He held up a briefcase. “See, we got the cube, and scepter and—”

            Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tony if everything ‘went off without a hitch’ then why do I suddenly have memories of the Tesseract landing at my feet and using it to escape?”

            “You what?” Thor asked.

            “It’s strange,” Loki said, “I know which memories are the ones I lived but I have this second set where I apparently escaped after New York and yet still found myself in Asgard’s dungeon. Apparently the other me decided that was the safest place to be.”

            “How come none of the rest of us have a second set of memories?” Rogers asked.

            “I have no idea. My seiðr maybe?”

            “Or perhaps it’s due to you having had the most interaction with the Stones?” suggested Thor.

            “Maybe,” Loki conceded, “however that is not our biggest problem right now.” He cast his gaze towards where Imposter-Nebula sat, still unconscious from the lightning strike.

            “We gotta get our Nebula back,” Rocket said.

            “We can’t,” Lang said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “We used up all our Pym particles.”

            Rhodey said, “Yeah but, if this works and we snap everyone back, couldn’t we make more?”

            Lang shrugged, “He has a point.”

            “But Nebula is trapped in 2014 right now,” Rocket exclaimed. “We can’t leave her there. What if something happens to her?”

            “We don’t really have much of a choice at the moment,” Loki said.

            “But we got the Time Stone right? Let’s just use that,” the raccoon looked to the three who had gone to New York. “Give me the Stone.”

            “No,” Banner said, clutching it protectively. “We would be better waiting until we’ve repaired the damage from the Snap.

            “Yeah, one problem at a time guys,” Tony said. His shoulders sagged a little. “I know you want to get Nebula back,” he said to Rocket, “but we don’t have the ability to do that right now. None of us really know how to use the Time Stone, let alone use it to go back to try and find her. We could end up doing more damage if we tried. Bruce is right, our best option right now is wait until after we’ve reversed the Snap and go back once more Pym particles have been created.

            Rocket glowered, not at all happy with the decision. “I’ll get her back,” he mumbled.

            “So uh… I just had a thought,” Rhodey said, moving off the platform. He pointed to the unconscious imposter. “If she’s from 2014 then we obviously know that our Nebula was caught. So, what’s she doing here? What does she plan to accomplish?”

            The group shared a look. It was a very good question. “I suppose we’ll find out once she wakes up,” Rogers said.

            “It won’t be easy,” Loki said. “Nebula will be tough to break. Everything Thanos has done to her has only made it harder for others to get past her barriers.” He tipped his head to the side as he considered their captive. To Tony he asked, “Do you think you could create a stand-alone server quickly?”

            “That’s easy,” Tony said, “but why?”

            “It’s one of the things Thanos would do. He would hook up to her neural network as a form of her conditioning. Maybe we could do the same to find out how she got here and what she plans to do.”

            “You want to torture her?”

            “No, I want to hack her brain. There’s a difference.”

            “There is?” Banner asked.

            “We have the Scepter now,” said Rhodey. “Would that be easier?”

            All heads turned to the dark skinned man incredulously. “I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole,” Tony said.

            “I’m not touching that at all,” Loki said. “I want nothing to do with the damn thing.”

            Rhodey held up his hands in a placating gesture. His gaze settled on Loki. “All I’m saying is that you’ve used it before. You know how it works. I’m not saying we actually have to use it, just that it’s an option.”

            “I’ve already had that cursed Stone tear my mind apart once,” Loki growled, “I’m not about to let it try again.”

            “You truly think it would?” Thor asked, concern entering his voice.

            “It just left a time where its hold on me was just violently broken.” He glanced at the long case that contained the Scepter. A shiver ran up his spine. “Even now I can hear it whispering.”

            “Okay, so the Scepter’s out. No big deal,” Tony’s eyes found the unconscious Nebula again. “So what do we do with her in the meantime? I feel like if we try to put her into a cell we’ll be setting ourselves up for a cliché.”

            “You mean where she breaks out and does whatever it is she came here to do?” Rhodey asked.

            “Exactly.”

            “If I could have my way, we’d kill her,” said Loki.

            “Hell no!” Rocket yelled stalking to the edge of the platform and doing a poor job of trying to intimidate Loki. “You’re not gonna kill her. I don’t care what time she’s from, you’re not touching Nebula!”

            “Enough!” Rogers yelled, gaining everyone’s attention. “One problem at a time.” To Rocket he said, “We aren’t going to kill her but we also can’t just let her wander freely either.”

            That was a simple enough problem to fix. Without waiting for anyone’s approval, he went over to the imposter and with a light touch sent her to his dimensional pocket.

            The others cried out at her sudden disappearance. The raccoon reached for a weapon. “I didn’t kill her,” Loki reassured, though he would have liked nothing more. “I simply put her into my dimensional pocket until such time as we can figure out how to get the information we need.”

            “As far as plans go that isn’t half bad,” Tony said. “Though I gotta ask, is it safe?”

            Loki shrugged, “Thor’s never suffered any ill effects.”

            “Except to my pride,” mumbled Thor.

            “She can’t escape from there either,” Loki continued, “unless she has suddenly gained seiðr and the knowledge to use it.”

            “So that’s one crisis averted for the moment,” Rogers said. “We have the Stones.”

            “I’ll start rendering a gauntlet to put them in,” Tony said. “It might take a little time to complete. I’ll need to make sure it’s able to handle the amount of power it’s going to hold.”

            “You do that.”

            An angry huff came from the other side of the platform. Barton had finally stood and as he made his way from the platform, he shoved the Soul Stone into Rogers’s hands. “Nat’s gone and all you people care about are the damn Stones,” he growled. His expression failed to hide the amount of grief he felt. He stormed from the room.

            Loki couldn’t keep himself from jumping as Banner let out a yell of anguish and pounded against the floor. The room fell silent. Loki felt his own grief at the loss of the Widow. While they hadn’t become close by any means there had been a mutual respect between them. Her loss would be felt for a long time.

            Loki slunk away silently, needing some air. It seemed as if things were only beginning to go wrong. He knew they never should have begun this venture. He and Thor had already lost their parents again and now a teammate was gone. How much more would they lose before this was over?

            He reached into his pocket and pulled out Thor’s cellphone, pulling up the images he had taken while in Asgard. His eyes filled with tears, they had looked happy and their parents looked so alive. He’d taken the pictures in the heat of the moment but now he wasn’t sure they weren’t just a form of torture he’d created for himself. They would forever be a reminder of both happiness and everything they had already lost.

            He put the phone away and wiped his eyes as he stepped outside. He was beginning to think they should never have started on this endeavor. As much as he’d appreciated being able to see his parents once more and to properly say goodbye to them he wasn’t sure it was worth the price they were paying. He couldn’t lose what little family he had left. If it came down to his family and the rest of the universe, Loki planned on being entirely selfish.

* * *

            The attitude within the compound was subdued as everyone took time to process the loss they had suffered. Thor had followed his brother but lost sight of him once he’d stepped outside. If Loki didn’t want to be found then he wouldn’t be.

            Somehow, Thor found his way out to the lake behind the compound. He’d apparently not been the only one to go there for solitude. Tony, Clint, Bruce and Steve had also found their way there. It was quiet and serene, the complete opposite to the turmoil they were currently feeling.

            The first time they had all gathered like this in defeat had been after Ultron had beaten them for the first time. It was a feeling that had repeated after the Snap and even after the death of Thanos. Thor was tired of the feeling.

            Tony was the first to break the silence. “Do we know if she had family?”

            Steve sighed, dropping into a chair on the dock, “Yeah… us…”

            “What?” Thor asked.

            “I just asked him a question,” Tony said.

            “Sorry,” Thor rubbed a hand over his face. “My mind is…” he made a vague gesture. “Is it possible she’s not dead? Just trapped within the stone? That we can get her back?”

            “We can’t get her back,” said Clint. He tossed a stone into the lake in his anger.

            “Wh-what?”

            Clint shook his head. “It can’t be undone. I can’t.”

            Thor laughed but it was a dry, hollow sound. “I’m sorry but what do you mean it can’t? These Stones carry cosmic magic, which is well beyond anything even I know. Maybe Loki—”

            “Look, I know that I’m way outside my paygrade here,” Clint interrupted. “But she still isn’t here, is she?”

            “Now that’s my point. We don’t know enough about the Stones to know for sure.”

            “It can’t… be undone.” Clint’s shoulders sagged. “Or at least that’s what the great floating guy had to say.” Anger contorted his features. “Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him.”

            “You’re talking about the Keeper?”

            Thor turned at the sound of his brother’s voice. So did the others. Clint rose and stormed towards Loki. “Did you know?” he growled. “Did you know the price?”

            “No,” Loki said calmly in the face of Clint’s anger. “I knew of the Stonekeepers but not what their prices were.”

            Once more Clint seemed to visibly deflate. “It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamned Stone. She bet her life on it.”

            The sound of wood breaking forcefully preceded Bruce’s yell as he tossed an empty bench across the lake. “She’s not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to.”

            Steve nodded and when he spoke, his voice echoed his conviction. “We will.”

            Silence fell around them once more. Clint and Bruce left the lakeside for other venues. Tony continued to look out at the calm waters, so did Steve. Loki had changed from his leathers to a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. Thor pulled his red sweater closer around himself to keep out a nonexistent chill.

            He moved closer to his brother and brushed his shoulder against Loki’s. “How are you doing?” he asked.

            Loki shrugged, arms folded as he leaned against a nearby pillar. “Considering we just left an Asgard where only a few hours later our mother would die, I’m wonderful.”

            Thor could have done without the sarcasm but everyone dealt with loss in their own way. At least Loki wasn’t bottling everything inside like he normally did. He wrapped an arm around Loki and gave a gentle squeeze. “I wish they would have listened to us too,” he said softly.

            “We still have to get the Stones out of their casings,” Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He cracked one eye to look at the brothers. “Do you know how Thanos got the Space Stone out of the Tesseract?”

            “He crushed it with his bare hand,” Loki said.

            Tony’s eyebrows shot up and even Steve looked surprised. “Well we aren’t doing that,” Tony said. He sighed heavily once more, “We don’t even have a body.”

            “She wouldn’t want you to quit,” Loki said softly. “I did not know her well but I think she would want you to keep going. You shouldn’t let her sacrifice go to waste.”

            “We won’t,” Steve said. “I think it’s still sinking in.”

            That was all one could hope for, Thor supposed.

            Later that night Thor flipped through channels and absently ran his fingers through Loki’s damp hair. His brother lay on his side though Thor could tell he was still awake. Something was on Loki’s mind but no amount of asking would get his brother to confide in him if he was not ready to do so. He glanced down, spotting a few blonde strands within the black. He’d half expected Loki to have gotten rid of those by now.

            He stilled his hand and received a poke to his thigh. “I didn’t say you could stop,” Loki mumbled sleepily.

            Thor resumed his ministrations. “You do have your own room, you know.”

            “I know.” Loki’s quarters were only across the hall from Thor’s but he’d come to Thor’s room about an hour ago and crawled into his bed with seemingly no intention of leaving. Thor supposed it made sense; they were both still dealing with everything that had happened in Asgard.

            “I wish you would tell me what troubles you.”

            Loki sighed heavily, rolling onto his back so he could look up at Thor. “I have a bad feeling. No matter what I do or tell myself, I can’t get it to go away. I’m frightened Thor. I have this terrible sense something bad is going to happen.”

            Thor felt a little uneasy as well but he’d attributed it to Natasha’s loss. He smiled down at Loki. “We will do this.”

            Loki’s gaze drifted to the far wall. “The other night Tony asked me something.” He looked back at Thor and Thor could see the fear in his brother’s green eyes. “He asked me that if something happened to him, you and I would look after Pepper and Morgan.”

            “We would.”

            “I know, but that’s not the point.” Loki rolled so that he was completely facing Thor. “I’m not entirely sure we can take the risk. Can we truly risk leaving Morgan without a father?”

            Thor shut the TV off and set the remote aside then shifted so he lay beside his brother. “It’s not our decision to make,” he said gently.

            Loki huffed, crossing his arms in an act of defiance. “I’ll put him in my dimensional pocket if I have to.”

            “All that would do would be to piss him off.”

            “Ugh,” Loki groaned, adjusting his pillow so he was half lying on it and half hugging it.

            “Besides, didn’t he say that Strange had seen multiple possible futures and we win in one of them?”

            “It was apparently how he justified giving away the Time Stone in the first place.”

            “Well,” Thor tried to put as much optimism in his voice as he could, “perhaps this is the future he saw.”

            “Or this is one where we all die.”

            Thor took his pillow and swatted Loki with it. “Stop being a pessimist.”

            Loki didn’t even try fighting back which only worried Thor. “I can’t help it Thor. This fear...” He shook his head, “The last time I felt fear like this, Thanos was attacking the Statesman.”

            Thor reached out and pulled Loki towards him, which was a tad awkward since Loki still hugged the pillow. He could feel the tension in his brother’s frame. “I wish I knew the words to ease your fear.”

            “I’m not sure there are any.”

            “None of us are going this alone. We will watch out for one another.” Some of the tension eased a bit. “Do you plan on staying here the whole night?”

            Loki tensed again. “I’ll leave if you want.”

            “No, but it might be more comfortable lying under the covers.”

            Thor saw Loki crack a smile. “But that requires moving,” he whined.

            He shook Loki’s shoulder, “Come on.”

            Loki made a noise that sounded like, “nugh,” but didn’t move. Thor stood so he could pull the covers back but realized his mistake because as soon as he stood Loki sprawled across the bed.

            Two could play that game. He sprawled out on top of Loki. “You do not make a very comfortable pillow, brother,” he said, wiggling to make his point.

            Loki was trying to both push Thor off and stifle his laughter. “Get off of me you oaf.”

            “Why? You’re the one who didn’t want to move.”

            “Can’t breathe...” Loki said dramatically, “light... fading fast... smothered... by my own... brother...”

            “Oh shut up. I’m not that heavy.”

            “Tell Morgan... she can have... my stereo...” With that, he crossed his eyes, stuck his tongue out and went still with a loud exhale.

            Thor rolled off Loki, shaking with laughter. “Tell Morgan she can have your stereo?”

            “It was the first thing I could think of,” Loki said, smacking Thor’s back. He sprung up, “Oh, I can’t believe I forgot this.” Thor watched him leave the room and while Loki was gone, Thor pulled the covers back. When Loki returned, he handed him a small item. “Here.”

            Thor took the item, which happened to be a small picture frame. He flipped it over and saw it contained one of the pictures Loki had taken of them all when they had been in Asgard. He set it on his bedside table. “Thank you.”

            Loki crawled into bed, pulling the covers over himself. “I’d needed to get away earlier and I realized I’d still had your phone so I decided to get the pictures printed up.”

            Thor lay beside his brother. He was thankful Loki had thought to take the pictures. It really was all they had left of their parents besides their memories. He glanced at it one last time then shut the light out.

* * *

            The next morning Loki made his way into the kitchen for some breakfast and a cup of hot tea. He could already smell that coffee had been brewed but that was one beverage he just could not drink, no matter how much it was doctored up.

            He wasn’t the only one to have the same thought on food. Tony was lying on one of the tables while the Captain, Barton and Lang sat at the other table. Banner was puttering around with more grace than Loki would have given him credit for; preparing what appeared to be pancakes and eggs.

            After preparing his tea, he hid his smile behind his cup as Thor entered the kitchen. Thor’s hair was matted on one side while sticking up at rather impressive angles on the other. Loki was sure his brother hadn’t fully woken yet. “Good morning brother,” he said with an overly cheerful voice, “rough night?”

            Thor’s eyes narrowed as he made a beeline for the coffee pot. Thor mumbled something unintelligible while he poured himself a rather large cup.

            Loki moved around the counter and caught Lang’s questioning gaze as he did so. The man was looking back and forth between Loki and his brother, confusion clearly evident in his gaze. “Is something the matter Lang?”

            Lang jumped slightly, startled at having been called out on his staring. A flush darkened his cheeks. “It’s uh… Just… I’m a little confused.”

            “About?”

            “Well… aren’t you two brothers?”

            Loki raised an eyebrow. What was confusing about that? “Yes, what of it?”

            “It’s uh… I mean… I saw you coming out of his room early this morning…”

            Now just about everyone was looking at Lang, wondering where he was going with this. “What’s your point?”

            “You’re brothers… and you spent the night in his room…”

            “Spit it out Lang,” Tony groaned.

            Oh… Oh! This was golden! It suddenly clicked for Loki where the man’s mind was. He set his cup of tea down and stood slightly behind Thor, draping an arm around Thor’s left shoulder while laying his head against his right. His right hand circled Thor’s stomach. “Oh, dear me,” he grinned wickedly.

            “Loki, what are you doing?” Thor asked groggily.

            “He thinks we were sleeping together.”

            Thor took a sip of his coffee. “We were.”

            Lang’s eyes bulged at Thor’s admission. Everyone else looked shocked, except for Tony. Tony was covering his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing though Loki could see his shoulders shaking from the effort.

            “You were?” Lang squeaked.

            “I do hope we didn’t wake you. Thor can be rather loud and the bed is a tad smaller than we’re used to.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “My brother is quite large.”

            Behind them, Banner dropped whatever he’d been holding with a loud clang. “That is information I did not need!” Banner exclaimed.

            “Norns Loki, I am not awake enough for this,” Thor said, scrubbing a hand down his face. “What the Hel are you talking about?” He took another sip of his coffee.

            “Sex, dear brother mine.” Loki said, releasing Thor to retrieve his tea. “Mr. Lang here thinks we were in your room last night, having sex.”

            Thor sputtered, coffee spraying across the room, which was a rather impressive feat since it had come out his nose. Tony finally lost the fight against holding his laughter in. Thor coughed, obviously wide-awake now. He looked from Lang to Loki and back. “Where in the Nine did you get that idea?”

            Lang seemed to shrink in his chair. “You did say you were sleeping together,” he mumbled.

            “As in sharing a bed!” Thor exclaimed. He spun on Loki, “Why did you lead him on like that?”

            Loki shrugged, smiling behind his teacup, “It was fun.”

            Lang asked, “So you’re not…?”

            “No!” Thor yelled. “He’s my brother!”

            “Technically not genetically related,” Loki pointed out.

            “It’s still incest!” Thor exclaimed. “Norns no! No…” Thor shuddered. “Now I feel dirty.”

            “You’re an ass,” Tony said as he climbed from his table, still laughing.

            “It was funny. What made it even better was Thor played into it without even realizing.”

            “I hate you so much right now,” Thor said, a full-bodied shutter running through him.

            “Now I have this God awful image stuck in my head,” Barton complained.

            “Top or bottom?” Everyone now turned to look at Rogers in surprise. There was a beat of silence before the man held up his hands. “Kidding.”

            “Can you all stop imagining my brother and I having sex?” Thor groaned as he cleaned up the coffee he’d spat. “Please. It’s disturbing.”

            “Lang started it,” Loki said.

            Said man sank further into his chair. Any more and he’d slide under the table.

            “And on that extremely disturbing note, I’m going to go check on the progress of our gauntlet.” Tony said, leaving the room still chuckling softly.

            Loki followed after but not before blowing a kiss to Thor. He managed to duck the coffee mug thrown at his head. He could still hear Tony’s laughing as he caught up to him.

            “Thor’s gonna kill you one of these days,” Tony said.

            Loki waved him off. “Nah, he loves me too much.” He sobered a little. “Have you come up with a server we can use on Nebula?”

            “I’ve been thinking about that,” Tony said, scratching at his beard. “As much as I hate to say it, Rhodey may have had the right idea.”

            “Use the Mind Stone on her?”

            “I don’t like it either but it would probably be the best and fastest way to get what we need. I wouldn’t know how to interface with her neural network to begin with.”

            Loki sighed, knowing the man was right. They entered Tony’s lab where a hologram displayed the designs for the gauntlet Tony was preparing to render. The Infinity Stones sat within their casings in the far end of the room. Loki eyed them warily. He could swear they were whispering to him. Not just a single stone, all of them. It unnerved him to no end.

            “Hey, Merlin, you okay?”

            Loki shook himself out of his musings. “I hate having the Stones so close to me. Their power,” he shuddered, “was something I never wanted. Thanos forced the Mind Stone upon me then sent me after the Space Stone. Less than a year later, I came into contact with the Reality Stone. That’s three Stones in less than two years. It is as if wherever I turn, there’s always one within my grasp.”

            He heard the click of the case holding the scepter open and glanced over to see Tony pulling it out. The glow of the gem turned his stomach. “I don’t know if I can use that,” he admitted.

            Tony laid the scepter on the table then moved over to another workstation. He pressed a few buttons and lights began to dance within the case on the workstation. The rendering was underway. “I know it’s not something you want to do. I don’t want you to have your use it either but we do need to know what she came here for.”

            Loki sighed, setting his cup down. “I know. I would rather not have to link her mind to mine.”

            Tony’s eyebrows shot up. He winced, “Maybe we do need to find a different way.”

            Loki felt relief knowing they would only use the scepter as a last resort. He gestured to the rendering, “How long do you think that’s going to take?”

            Tony shrugged. “Few hours, then I need to make sure it’ll handle the Stones.” He looked back at where the other five Stones sat. “Any idea how to get them out of their casings?”

            “Very carefully.”

            Tony gave him a dry stare. “Funny.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “About Nebula, I might actually have an idea. Was there anything Thanos would do as a reward?”

            Unsure where Tony was going with this he thought about it for a moment. “Besides praise and time without pain? Food. Good, quality food was rare on Sanctuary. If you pleased him enough you could earn a decent meal.”

            He remembered how malnourished he’d been when he’d first arrived on Midgard all those years ago. The only reason he’d been given anything worth eating leading up to his arrival had been so he wouldn’t be too weak for his mission. He’d still retained enough of his mind, though subconsciously, to make sure he failed. While he’d come to terms with what had happened it was still not something he liked to dwell on.

            “I definitely have an idea,” Tony said. “Give me, like, fifteen minutes and meet me in one of the empty labs.”

            Loki watched him go, wondering exactly what it was Tony had planned. He took his time making his way down to the labs, stopping by the kitchen to return his cup. Luckily for him he was able to get in and out without Thor throwing more things at him.

            By the time he made it down to the lab floor Tony was already waiting outside one of the doors. Tony waved him over and he entered one of the few empty labs. There was a table bolted to the floor along with a couple of chairs. Tony had affixed an anchor under one of the chairs. An empty cabinet ran along the wall, which Loki perched on.

            “Why do I have the feeling you’re about to inform me about a very bad idea.”

            “It’s not a bad idea,” Tony said, spinning the chair closest to the door around and sitting backwards upon it. “If anything even looks hinkey you can send her back into your little pocket.”

            “Should we inform the others?”

            “Nah. We’re not going to do anything besides talk. No harm in that.” He stopped, a look of contemplation crossing his face. “You know this makes you an Avenger, right?”

            “What?”

            “With everything you’ve done to help us and with our little trip through time, you’re an Avenger now. Probably never thought you’d hear that, huh?”

            Honestly it had never crossed Loki’s mind. For Tony to call him an Avenger was… interesting and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it. These people had once been his enemies but now they were not just his allies, but friends and in Tony’s case, family.

            “I doubt anyone else, besides maybe Thor, would agree with you.”

            “You kidding? I mean, yeah I floated the idea but it was actually Cap who brought it up this time.”

            “Really?”

            “Yep.”

            Loki stared at Tony in silence, processing what he’d just said. “I’m honored,” he eventually replied.

            Tony drummed his hands on the table, “Great. Now how about we have a chat with our little imposter?”

            Loki shook his head and with a little manipulation of his seiðr Nebula dropped rather unceremoniously into the chair. A band of green held her in place.

            It took a minute or two for the effects of Thor’s strike and having been in between dimensions for the last twelve or so hours to wear off enough for her to begin to stir. When Nebula finally awoke, she struggled against her bonds. “Let me go,” she growled.

            “Yeah,” Tony said, drumming his fingers on the table, “not gonna happen. So since we all know you’re not going to get what you want, how about we talk?”

            “I have nothing to say to you.” Her gaze flicked to Loki. “Father will kill you for your disobedience.”

            “He tried that,” Loki said, grinning at her, “didn’t stick. Also, Thanos is dead. My brother killed him.”

            Nebula shook with her rage. “Torture me all you want. I will tell you nothing.”

            “Oh, we’ll torture you all right,” Tony said, pulling something from beside him.

            Loki had enough discipline to keep his expression blank. They weren’t really going to torture her, were they?

            Tony continued, “The method is infamous on Earth.” He gestured to the small tub he’d put on the table, and was that a spoon? “The ever feared Triple Chocolate Chunk torture.” He scooped out a spoonful of the ice cream and took a bite. Without looking away from Nebula he held out a spoon to Loki. “Want some?”

            Not quite sure where Tony was going with this, he shrugged. “Sure.” He took the spoon and scooped up a little for himself. Chocolate was a rather rare delicately beyond Midgard.

            Nebula’s eyes darted back and forth and Loki could see her now shaking not with rage but with longing. She may appear healthy but Loki knew from experience she was starving. Having food of any kind nearby was a torture all its own.

            “So,” Tony said to Nebula around a mouthful of ice cream, “We can do this with a little give and take. We want to know what you came here for. What happened to the Nebula of our time, things like that. You tell us and,” he wiggled the carton of ice cream, “you can have some.”

            Loki could see Nebula struggling with what to do. He wondered if her loyalty to Thanos would win out over her need for food. She turned her head away. “I will tell you nothing.”

            “Suit yourself.” Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. The door opened, “Smells like breakfast is here.”

            Loki looked to the door to see his brother entering with plates full of pancakes and eggs. He stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten yet that morning. The smell of bacon made his mouth water. Thor gave one plate to Loki and put the other on the table. “Tony said you forgot to eat, again.”

            “Well I was busy dodging the coffee cups you were throwing at me,” Loki replied, digging in to his meal. Thor had practically drowned his pancakes in maple syrup but Loki would forgive him for it as it allowed him to dip his bacon in the extra syrup.

            “What’s going on?” Thor asked, having obviously seen Nebula sitting at the table.

            “We’re just talking,” Tony said, swiping some bacon off the plate Thor had put by him. “She says she’s not gonna say anything so I figured we’d just sit and eat while we wait.”

            Loki watched Nebula out of the corner of his eye. She was beginning to waver, he could tell. The smell of food seemed to fill the lab. Nebula was practically vibrating in her seat.

            “Bring him here,” Nebula blurted. “Father wanted me to bring him here.”

            Tony pushed the plate towards her and Loki released her enough to move her hands. She dug into the meal like the starving woman she was. Everyone ignored the frenzy by which she ate. She began to slow down once she’d finished off half the plate.

            “How were you planning on bringing him here?” Loki asked.

            “Your Quantum machine,” Nebula replied around a mouthful of food. “I was to reprogram your machine to bring him here.”

            “Why?”

            She swallowed, wiping syrup from her mouth with the back of her hand. “He succeeded in his mission but you plan on reversing what he’s done. He knows you planned to collect the Stones from different points in time. He wants to use the Stones you’ve collected to remake the universe.”

            Loki’s current bite stopped halfway to his mouth and he shared a look of concern with his brother and Tony. The Norns only knew what kind of universe Thanos would create. What he did know was it would destroy all life as they knew it.

            “What happened to the Nebula from our time?” Tony asked.

            Past-Nebula took a few more bites of her food. “She is a prisoner of my father.” She paused, looking at the food then pushing it away from her in disgust. “I will not betray him.”

            “Too late,” Loki said, putting his plate to the side. He stood and slowly walked over to the table. “Once Thanos learns you failed, well, we both know what he’ll do to you.”

            “You want to send her back?” Thor asked.

            “She cannot stay here,” Loki replied. “Once we reverse the damage Thanos caused in our time we can obtain more Pym particles and return her to her own time while also rescuing the Nebula of our time, so long as Thanos hasn’t already killed her.”

            “She is weak,” Nebula growled.

            “She’s stronger than you,” Loki said evenly. “You think remaining loyal to Thanos makes you strong?” He shook his head. “No, it makes you beyond weak, it makes you pathetic.” He placed his hands on the table, leaning towards her. He sneered, “You’ve been vying for the love of a creature that is incapable of such a sentiment. Do you truly believe you will ever do anything to be worthy of his so-called love?”

            “I am stronger than you will ever be,” Nebula growled. “I tortured you, remember. I know the sounds of your screams. I have seen you beg for a mercy you never deserved. Father molded you into a king and now look at you, nothing more than a Terran’s lapdog.”

            Thor stormed towards her, lightning flashing across his eyes. “Don’t you—”

            “It’s alright brother,” Loki interrupted, standing. “Her words mean nothing to me.” To Nebula he said, “Unlike you, I am not a slave to Thanos. I’m not a Son of Thanos. I am a Son of Odin and I am free. I have something you will never have, something your future self has discovered and embraced as well.

            “I have a family. I have everything you want from Thanos and more and it is given to me freely. I don’t have to beg for the unconditional love I am given nor do I require anyone to prove themselves to me for my love to be given in return. So long as you are slave to Thanos, you will never understand.”

            Nebula’s black eyes glared at him from across the table yet she appeared to be unable to find any words to refute what he said.

            Loki grabbed his plate and stepped from the room, touching the wall as he went. Thor and Tony following behind. Tony closed and locked the door once they were back in the hallway. The distinct glow of Loki’s seiðr surrounded the room. “She won’t be able to break free from that,” Loki said.

            “Good,” Tony said. They were silent for a moment, “So Thanos knows.”

            “It appears that way,” Thor said. “Is there any way he can use the knowledge he’s gotten from Nebula to change the future?”

            “Our future? No, but that’s not to say he won’t damage Yggdrasil by trying. How much did our Nebula know about the Quantum machine?”

            Tony rubbed his brow, appearing to fight off an oncoming headache. “I don’t know. Here’s what we do know.” He began counting off on his fingers, “One, Thanos knows what we plan to do and sent Crazy Blue here because of that. Two, we have the Stones and the gauntlet is almost done. Three, we have no way of knowing how much knowledge Thanos has gotten from our Nebula.”

            “It may be safe to say everything she knew,” Loki said. “They would have both been connected to the same synaptic drive.”

            “The same what?”

            “Nebula is more machine than Luphomoid now due to Thanos’s improvements.”

            “More machine now than man,” Tony said, “twisted and evil.”

            “Yes Obi-Wan,” Loki sarcastically replied, “exactly.”

            “Without her help,” Thor said, motioning to the door, “Thanos can’t come to our time. Right?”

            “God I hope not.” Tony groaned. He ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s go talk to the others, tell them what we’ve learned and see if the gauntlet is ready.” His eyes travelled back to the door. “What about Crazy Blue?”

            “I’ve warded the room,” Loki said, “she can’t get out.”

            “Okay… Good… Let’s go see if we can’t head this cluster off at the pass.”

* * *

            After informing everyone what they had learned from Past-Nebula and the possible ramifications of keeping the Stones out of their original times, the team met in the main lab where the gauntlet was just finishing being rendered. The Stones had been carefully extracted from their casings and with a little robotic manipulation; they were set within their housings.

            Loki had felt a surge of power at the Stones coming together in their setting. Their whispers seemed to grow louder now that they were so close to one another. Tony had called everyone into the lab where the gauntlet sat, waiting to be used.

            “All right. The glove’s ready,” Rocket gently handled the gauntlet. “Question is, who’s gonna snap their freaking fingers?”

            “I’ll do it,” Thor said.

            Loki looked at his brother. He said, “Excuse you,” at the same time Lang asked, “Excuse me?”

            The look in Thor’s eye was a little on the crazed side. Loki didn’t like it one bit. “It’s okay,” Thor said, taking a step towards the gauntlet.

            Loki stepped into his path, “Are you crazy?”

            “No Thor, wait,” Rogers said. “We haven’t decided who’s gonna put that on yet.”

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” Thor huffed. “What, were you just going to sit around waiting for the right opportunity?”

            “We should at least discuss it,” Lang said meekly.

            “Look, us sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I’m the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It’s my duty.”

            “Where did you ever come up with that idea?” Loki asked.

            “Loki has a point buddy," Tony said. "It’s not that… Look, it’s not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I’m saying that you’re in no condition.”

            “What do you mean?” Thor asked, “I’m fine.”

            When Loki next spoke, it was in their native Asgardian, “You were suffering a severe depression only a few days ago. I know you still feel responsible for what Thanos did and Tony is right, given your ailment, you are in no condition to try controlling the Infinity Stones.”

            “That has nothing to do with it,” Thor argued.

            “It has everything to do with it,” Loki retorted. “Let’s at least discuss this first before you try something that could very well get you killed.”   

            “Any idea what they’re saying?” Barton asked.

            “Some,” Tony said.

            “Well?” Rogers asked.

            Tony shrugged, “They’re arguing.”

            “No shit,” Barton muttered.

            “What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?” Thor asked the room at large, switching back to English.

            Loki raised his eyes to the ceiling and took a breath, praying for patience. “Thor—”

            “Lightning,” Thor said, answering his own question. “With that—”

            “Lightning won’t help you pal,” Banner said, his gaze centered on the gauntlet. “It’s gotta be me.” His eyes found Thor and Loki could see sympathy within their brown depths. “You saw what those Stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him.” To the room he said, “None of you could survive.”

            “How do we know you will?” Rogers asked.

            “We don’t,” Banner said with a shrug. “But the radiation’s mostly gamma.” He focused his attention back on the gauntlet, slowly approaching it. “It’s like… uh… I was made for this.”

            The room became silent again as they all realized the time was at hand. They were really going to do this.

            “But I—”

            Loki stepped in front of his brother, taking Thor’s face in his hands and made sure Thor’s gaze met his own. “Thor, please. Let Banner do this.” His sense of fear from the night before caused his voice to waver slightly.

            Thor seemed to have seen something in Loki’s eyes because he finally relented, “All right.”

            Loki let go of Thor and turned back to see everyone had averted their gazes while he talked Thor down. He was grateful for that.

            “Good to go, yeah?” Tony asked, sharing a look with Loki. Loki nodded silently.

            “Let’s do it,” Banner said, having picked up the gauntlet while Loki’s back was turned.

            “You remember... everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.”

            “Got it,” Banner said.

            Rogers stepped closer, his armor in place. He hadn’t been the only one to don armor. Lang and Rhodey secured their helmets in place. Tony pressed at the reactor on his chest and his suit formed around him. He held up a shield to protect himself and Barton. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will ya.”

            “Yes, boss,” replied the AI.

            The sound of large doors slowly closing could be heard as blast doors covered all of the walls and windows of the facility. Banner appeared to take a moment to mentally prepare himself before putting the gauntlet on.

            “Everybody comes home,” Banner said softly. The gauntlet grew to account for the size of Banker’s hand. As soon as it was on his hand, power surged up his arm. Banner cried out in pain, falling to his knees as the power of the Stones made tracks up the man’s arm.

            Thor pushed Loki behind him and Loki could feel Rocket’s paws against his back as the raccoon hid behind him. Loki felt the immense power surge in the ether. It took everything within him to keep from bolting. He was nearly sick from the amount of power the Stones were giving off by simply being connected.

            “Take it off,” Thor yelled. “Take it off!”

            Rogers held out a hand, “No wait.” His focus turned to the groaning doctor. “Bruce, are you okay?”

            From their other side, Tony said, “Talk to me Banner.”

            The power from the Stones had burned away the clothing on Banner’s arm and the skin underneath. “I’m okay,” Banner gasped, gripping his arm with his other hand, seemingly having a hard time keeping the hand with the gauntlet on raised. “I’m okay.”

            Thor gave him two thumbs up then glanced over to Loki. Loki could see the fear in his brother’s eyes and knew his own reflected the same emotion.

            Determination crossed Banner’s face. He screamed as he raised his fist, the power making tracks up Banner’s neck, his fingers came together and he snapped them.

            Loki grabbed Thor’s arm in a vice grip as the power surged. The lab disappeared from Loki’s view as he saw…

            “Nebula has failed. Bring me the one from the future. We shall see what information she can give to us.”

            Their Nebula is dragged before Thanos and secured within a force shield. A long probe enters the back of her skull. Nebula screams as schematics she should not have had access too are displayed before Thanos and Maw. The Quantum Machine and the devices used to active it.

            “Download her memory,” Thanos orders. “We shall travel to the future by other means.”

            “Of course, Master,” Maw replies.

            “Loki…”

            Earth, nine years prior. Devastation, utter destruction. A man named Pym taken for his knowledge, Tony dead, Pepper dead, the rest of Earth Mightiest Heroes wiped out. Thor… He could hear Thor…

            “Loki!”

            With a jolt, his vision cleared to show Thor bent over him, fear reflected within his gaze. Loki could feel something running over his lips. He wiped them and his hand came away with blood. “Did it work,” he asked breathlessly.

            “I don’t… Loki what was that?”

            He wasn’t sure but he began to fear the worst. Light filtered in to the lab as the lock down ended. There was a flutter of activity; he could hear a phone buzzing and the others tending to Banner.

            “He okay?” Tony asked, coming to kneel beside he and Thor.

            “Loki?” Thor asked again.

            “Guys,” Lang called, “I think it worked.”

            Loki used his seiðr to remove the blood from his face. “I saw...” Loki began as something crossed the window, casting the room in shadow. Loki looked up and his heart dropped into his stomach. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. lock it down!”

            The room exploded.

* * *

            Thor grabbed Loki as the room collapsed around them. Loki created a shield with his seiðr to protect them both. He could hear cries from the others through the comm. Several more explosions rocked the facility. Loki found himself tucked under Thor until the explosions stopped.

            Small pebbles clinked against the armor which had encased the brothers. Huh, Loki hadn’t realized the suits had activated during the explosion. He found himself grateful for the suits Tony had created for them those few years ago.

            “Are you all right,” Thor asked, his eyes roving over Loki’s form.

            Loki nodded, adrenaline rushing through him. “Yes,” he replied. Instinctively, his seiðr had created a small pocket around them which the rubble had fallen against. “What about you?”

            “I’m fine,” Thor said and Loki used his seiðr to make sure what Thor said was true, just in case. Thor gestured somewhere over Loki’s head. “It looks like we can get out that way.”

            Loki tipped his head up and saw a hole where the lab used to be. He was unable to see anyone else. He carefully slid out from under Thor and made for the hole. Thor followed after him.

            The made their way painstakingly through the rubble. They came out at the edge of the hole in the floor. They slowly skirted it until they made it out of the ruined building, their suits retracting as they moved. “Nebula escaped,” Loki realized belatedly.

            “I think that’s the least of our problems,” Thor said, gesturing to what had once been the courtyard.

            Smoke filled the air, blocking out the sun. The Sanctuary II hung ominously in the sky.

            Loki let his gaze focus on where Thor pointed and felt his blood run cold. The very figure from his nightmares was sitting among the rubble. At one time he would have fled and a part of him wanted to do so now. He wouldn’t though, he would do all he could to protect his family and friends.

            A smaller figure walked away from where Thanos sat. Loki had hoped Nebula would have been buried in the remains of the compound.

            The sounds of gravel crunching underfoot alerted them that they had company. Tony and Rogers came up behind them, caked in dirt. “What’s he been doing?” Tony asked.

            Thor sighed, “Absolutely nothing.”

            “Where are the Stones?” Rogers asked.

            “Somewhere under all this,” Tony sighed, motioning to the rubble. “All I know is he doesn’t have them.” That was a small comfort.

            “So we keep it that way,” Rogers said.

            Loki let his eyes wander over the devastation again. He hoped, prayed, the Stones were buried deep. Though he knew, no matter how deeply they were buried they would not have been destroyed. Thanos would stop at nothing to obtain them. “It won’t be easy,” Loki said.

            “You know it’s a trap, right?” Thor asked.

            “Yeah,” Tony’s voice was equal parts sarcasm and determination. “And I don’t much care.”

            “Good,” Thor nodded. He held out both arms, “Just as long as we are all in agreement.” His eyes glowed blue with his lightning. The clouds gathered and thunder growled in the distance. Sparks danced up Thor’s arms and both Mjölnir and Stormbreaker flew into Thor’s grasp, his fighting leathers covering him as lightning struck.

            Loki called his leathers to himself, his blades manifesting within his grasp as he began walking forward. “Let’s kill him proper this time.”

            Together they walked to where Thanos sat. The Titan lifted his head up at their approach, his lips upturned in a smile. “You could not live with your own failure,” Thanos began. “And where did that bring you?” He looked down, “Back to me.” He met their gazes again. “I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive.” They took up positions around Thanos while he continued speaking, each ready and waiting to strike. “But you’ve shown me that’s impossible, and as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

            “Yep, we’re all kinds of stubborn,” Tony quipped.

            “I’m thankful. Because now, I know what I must do.” Thanos tossed a rock he’d been holding to the side and stood. “I will shred this universe down to its last atom.” Thanos put his helmet back on and took up his doubled-edged sword. “And then... With the Stones you’ve collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe.”

            To one side, Loki saw Thor call forth his lightning, the electricity dancing around him. Loki felt his seiðr flow, ready to strike.

            “Born out of blood,” Rogers said.

            “They’ll never know it, because you won’t be able to tell them.”

            “Yggdrasil will know, the cosmos will know what you’ve done,” Loki said. “If you succeed, the sense of wrong from the universe you create will always be there.”

            Thanos’s gaze came to a stop on Loki. “Hello, my son.”

            “I am not your son,” Loki said calmly, grip tightening on a dagger. “I was never your son.”

            Thanos smirked, “So you say. You may claim otherwise but I know who you truly are.”

            Thanos knew nothing of him, only what he believed. Loki thought back to words he had spoken to the Titan what seemed like so long ago. He stood tall, proud and fearless, equally meeting the Titan’s gaze with his own. “I am Loki, Prince of Asgard; Odinson, the rightful King of Jötunheim, God of Mischief, and,” his lips twisted up into his signature smirk, “I am an Avenger.”

            Thor let out a battle cry, Tony leapt into the air, Rogers threw his shield and Loki struck with his daggers. The battle had begun.

            They took turns striking at the Titain and each attack was met with equal defense. Tony would strike with a repulsor beam and Thanos would deflect it with his sword. Every attack they tried was repelled by the Titan.

            Tony landed; the back of his armor opening in the shape of a flower. “Okay, Thor. Hit me.”

            With a cry, Thor brought both Mjölnir and Stormbreaker together, lightning shot into the center of the “flower” building up a charge within Tony’s suit. Multiple energy blasts struck at Thanos. Though the Titan struggled, he was able to spin his blade fast enough to deflect them. Thor used Mjölnir like a baseball and launched it at Thanos.

            Thanos reached Tony and struck, stopping the blasts. He picked Tony up just as Mjölnir struck, launching Tony from Thanos’s grasp. Rogers took his turn only to be tossed to the side like a doll. Thanos launched his sword at Thor, who ducked under it, bringing Stormbreaker to bear.

            Loki met his brother and they attacked together. Each in sync as they had been so many times before. Parry, thrust, strike, retreat. Loki’s daggers were as much an extension of himself as Stormbreaker and Mjölnir were to Thor. Centuries of fighting together allowed them to both strike and cover each other’s back.

            Thor managed to knock Thanos’s sword from his grasp. Thanos succeeded in blocking Thor’s next swing and instead knocked the axe from Thor’s hand. He swung backward, knocking Loki to the ground while with his other hand pulled Thor up by his neck and tossed him to the side.

            Dazed, Loki watched as Thanos tossed Thor around and when Thor tried to call Stormbreaker to him, Thanos intercepted it instead. The Titan pressed the blade against Thor’s chest. Thor struggled to keep it from cutting.

            Loki ran for the Titan, sliding up behind him and thrusting a dagger within the seam of his armor. He jerked his hand, purposefully breaking his dagger off within the Titan’s body. Thanos roared, striking out once again. His hand closing around Loki’s neck.

            “Loki!” Thor cried.

            Loki took his other blade and stabbed at the hand around his neck. Once more Thanos cried out, losing his grip on Loki. Loki fell to the ground with a cough and Thanos pulled the blade from his hand. “You think your pathetic knives can—”

            Thanos’s words were cut off as he was struck from behind. The familiar metallic sound of Mjölnir sailing through the sky reaching Loki’s ears. The hammer hadn’t answered Thor’s summons though. Loki’s eyes tracked her path. She flew towards the Captain, who caught her.

            Thor laughed, “I knew it.”

            Thanos kicked Thor and swung once more at Loki before turning to face Captain America. Loki heard their battle commence. He pulled himself from the ground, a stab of pain in his side alerting him to a broken rib which his seiðr quickly healed, and moved to Thor.

            He dropped to Thor’s side, digging him out from the debris Thanos’s kick had buried him under. “Thor,” he smacked his brother’s cheek to wake him.

            Thor groaned, his eyes fluttering open. He gripped Loki’s arm with one hand once his eyes had focused on him. With his other hand, he prodded Loki’s neck. “Are you okay?”

            Loki took Thor’s hand in his own. “I’ll live.” He turned his gaze to where Rogers was still fighting Thanos. The Captain was holding his own well enough, even managing to summon lightning with Mjölnir. He and Thor watched the tide begin to turn. Rogers’s shield broke and the man was thrown once again by Thanos.

            “Where’s Tony?”

            “I don’t know.”

            Loki helped his brother to his feet. They looked around for Tony but given how much they had all been tossed around were unable to see him. They’d both heard the chatter from those buried under the facility though neither of them could help.

            Beams of light descended from Sanctuary II and obelisks smashed into the ground, releasing a deluge of warriors. Leviathan flew through the sky. The brothers watched as Thanos’s army was brought to bear. The four of them, against so many…

            The communicator in Loki’s ear began to crackle.

            “Hey Cap, you hear me?”

            Loki and Thor exchanged looks. That had come from an open frequency. It was not a voice Loki recognized. From his brother’s expression of confusion, Loki didn’t think Thor recognized it either.

            “Cap, it’s Sam. Can you hear me?”

            The brothers stumbled towards where Rogers stood facing Thanos alone. Behind the man, golden sparks began to spin in the air. Loki had seen that magic before.

            “On your left.”

            A small portal opened and three people walked through. Time itself seemed to stand still in anticipation of what would happen next. A man flew through the single portal as more began to open.

            Warriors from, not just Midgard but all the cosmos, began to walk through the portals. Loki cast his eyes all around. He saw Strange with a smaller group, one of them Tony’s Spiderling.

            Thousands upon thousands of warriors: Midgardians, Einherjar, the Gladiators and Valkyrie, Ravagers, the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Pepper in the armor Tony had gifted her for their anniversary. From the rubble of the destroyed facility emerged Lang in giant form, Rhodey, Rocket and Banner in his hand.

            Loki heard Stormbreaker smack against Thor’s palm. He took a breath, refreshing his armor and calling forth his horned helm. Thor wrapped an arm around his waist and took to the air; Tony met them along the way. They landed near Rogers, still amazed at the amount of warriors gathered. Hope sparked within Loki’s chest. Perhaps they would win.

            “Avengers!” Rogers called. Mjölnir flew into his hand. “Assemble.”

            Battle cries rang out and the two armies charged one another. Loki sunk his daggers into the first Chitauri he came across. Simulacrum manifested, dozens of them, which Loki used to both confuse and fight.

            A blast in the air drew his attention and he turned his gaze to see husband and wife fighting side by side. An Outrider charged Loki. He remained where he was, grinning at the beast as it came closer. It leapt at Loki, claws extended, only to go right through him and impale itself on a piece of rebar.

            “You and your tricks,” Thor teased.

            “It worked, didn’t it?” Loki asked.

            Thor laughed as he fought. He and Rogers were close enough that they’d somehow managed to switch weapons. Thor looked at Loki, to Mjölnir then over to Rogers. “No, no give me that,” he said to Rogers, motioning to Stormbreaker. “You have the little one.” They switched weapons and Thor sent Loki one more smile before he called forth his lightning and took to the air once more.

            Loki shook his head, his own grin wide. His blood sang with the thrill of the fight. While he’d never really been one to lust for battle this was different. This was a fight for the fate of all. This was a battle for the ages. All they had to do, besides win, was survive.

* * *

            Tony and Pepper had become separated in the chaos. He wasn’t too worried. F.R.I.D.A.Y. would let him know if she were in danger. He spotted the gold of Loki’s helm in the fray and had a moment to wonder where Thor had gotten off to when this giant... thing hit him from behind. He fell hard against the rubble with a grunt. Quickly he spun around, bringing his weapon to bear and firing. The creature went to strike only to be jerked back by something Tony couldn’t see. Lang’s giant foot came down, crushing the creature.

            Lang lumbered off and Tony felt his heart stop as a new figure bounded towards him. His helmet retracted as Peter helped him up. “Hey! Holy cow. You will not believe what’s been going on. Do you remember when we were in space?”

            Tony felt his chest tighten and eyes beginning to water. He’d thought for so long that he’d lost his kid forever but here he was, rambling on without even seeming to realize the emotions he was creating within Tony.

            Peter continued talking, “And I got all dusty? I must’ve passed out, ‘cause I woke up, and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? He was like, ‘It’s been five years. Come on, they need us!’” He began to mimic the motion Strange used to create his portals. Tony stumbled towards the boy. Peter looked confused, stepping back slightly. “And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time...”

            Tony was close enough, “Here, come here,” he mumbled. He pulled the confused teenager to him.

            “W-what are you doing?”

            Tony finally, finally, had his kid in his arms. For a moment the whole world stopped. Tony couldn’t care less about the battle raging around him. Peter was alive and here...

            Peter seemed to get over his confusion. He sighed, hugging Tony back. “Huh, oh this... this is nice.”

            Choked laughter escaped Tony. He pulled back, clasping the side of Peter’s head. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said with a shaky voice. “I just got you back.”

            “Wait, you missed me?”

            A sob escaped him, “Yeah kid, I did.”

            It seemed Peter didn’t know what to do with that information. The boy’s eyes went wide and he spun. Tony saw the creature that had triggered the boy’s senses. He reached for Peter, instinct telling him to protect the boy. Neither of them were prepared for the creature to suddenly drop dead at their feet. An intricate dagger sticking out the base of the creature’s skull.

            Loki stood behind the thing, a new dagger manifesting. He waved one of his knives at their general surroundings. “Pay attention Tony.”

            Tony wished he had more time to enjoy Peter’s look of shock. “Sorry,” he put an arm around Peter’s shoulders. “I got a little distracted.”

            Loki raised an eyebrow. “I can’t see that.” His expression softened as he seemed to recognize Peter. “Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of prolonged reunions.”

            He hated that Loki was right. He could at least do introductions. “Loki, this is Peter.” To Peter he said, “Peter, Loki.”

            Tony wasn’t sure how the kid’s eyes could get any wider but he managed it. “Loki,” Peter asked in awe, “like the Norse god?”

            Loki bowed, reminding Tony of his royal lineage. “The very same,” Loki said.

            “Oh, wow. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Loki.”

            “Just ‘Loki’ is fine.” He grimaced when a flash of lightning caught their attention. “If you’ll excuse me. I need to go make sure my brother isn’t doing anything stupid, like getting himself killed.”

            “I better see you two when this is all over,” Tony said.

            “Same to you,” Loki replied. “No over theatrical heroics.”

            “Isn’t that your department?”

            Loki made a face. “Oh, no. Thor is the guilty one in that regard.”

           Tony gave Peter’s shoulders a squeeze and nodded to Loki. “Stay safe you two.” He let Peter go and took to the air again. He headed towards where he’d last seen Dr. Strange. There was something he had to know.

            The comm crackled and Clint’s voice said in his ear, “Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?”

            His heart sunk as he realized what Clint was talking about. Rogers replied, “Get those Stones as far away as possible!”

            Banner said, “No! We need to get them back where they came from.”

            “No way to get them back,” Tony said. “Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel.”

            “Hold on!” Lang said, “That wasn’t our only time machine.” A terrible rendition of La Cucaracha rang out over the battlefield.

            “Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?” Rogers asked.

            “Yes!” Valkyrie replied, “But you’re not gonna like where it’s parked.”

            They may have a chance. The faster they could return the Stones to their own time the better. “Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?” he asked.

            “Maybe ten minutes,” Lang replied.

            “Get it started,” ordered Rogers. “We’ll get the Stones to you.”

            “We’re on it, Cap,” said a woman Tony didn’t recognize.

            Tony finally spotted where Strange was fighting. He landed, retracting his helmet. “You said one out of fourteen million, we win, yeah? Tell me this is it.”

            “If I tell you what happens,” Strange replied, “it won’t happen.”

            That wasn’t really what he wanted to hear. He wanted a definitive yes but it would have to do. Though in his own way Strange had answered Tony’s question. “You’d better be right.”

            He left Strange to return to the fight. An intense game of Keep Away began. The gauntlet moving from person to person in an attempt to keep it from falling into Thanos’s hands. Suddenly Thanos’s ship began to fire, seeming not to care at all what was hit.

            The barrage seemed to go on forever. Tony weaved around the blasts, taking out enemies along the way. He needed to get to the van to support Lang. He caught sight of Loki surrounded by a field of green as he protected his brother and other allies from the bombardment.

            Suddenly the beams stopped. Tony watched as the guns of Sanctuary II shifted their aim. Over the comm, someone asked, “What the hell is this?”

            Good question. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., what are they firing at?”

            “Something just entered the upper atmosphere,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

            A beam of light raced towards Sanctuary II. It didn’t stop, blasting through the ship then turning to go through it again. He recognized the form of Carol Danvers as she destroyed the ship. No longer able to fly, Sanctuary II crashed into the nearby lake.

            “Danvers, we need an assist here,” said Rogers.

            The race began again. Tony reached the van just as Thanos threw his sword into the time machine. It blew; the shockwave sending him crashing into a pile of debris. Tony shook himself, forced himself out of his daze. He turned and saw the gauntlet laying a few feet away.

            He hadn’t been the only one to see it. He and Thanos both ran towards it and he body slammed Thanos away from the gauntlet. Thanos spun, striking Tony and sending him to the ground. Tony’s world went dark.

            He came to a moment later. He was still light headed as he crawled towards where Thanos was engaged with Thor and Rogers. He felt his consciousness fading him again just as Danvers arrived. Get it together Tony, he thought.

            The shockwave created when Thanos used the Power Stone to overpower Danvers brought everything into sharp focus. He glanced towards where Strange was holding back a wall of water. The Sorcerer held up a single finger. That was all the information Tony needed. He knew what he had to do.

            Tony reached the Titan, grabbed Thanos’s gauntleted hand and pulled. They exchanged a look. Tony struggled to get the gauntlet off, barely blocking the blows he received. It was futile and Tony realized it wasn’t going to work. He had only one option left. He dragged his hand across the Stones as Thanos batted him away.

            Triumph rang in Thanos’s voice. “I am... inevitable.” The Titan snapped his fingers.

            Nothing happened.

            Tony knelt on the ground. He had a moment to enjoy the Titan’s confusion. The nanites moved the Stones, setting them into position upon his own glove. A pain unlike any he’d felt before raced up his arm. He refused to give in to it, refused to cry out. He would not fail!

            “And I...” He thought of Pepper and Morgan, a moment of regret that he wouldn’t see his daughter grow up. “Am...” Thor and Loki, who had become like brothers to him. He hated to leave his family, wanted to stay but he knew this was the only way to save them. Tony realized that even if he’d known this would be the outcome beforehand, he would still willingly make this choice. “Iron Man.”

            Tony snapped his fingers.

* * *

            “Tony!” Loki ran for Tony, who he’d seen fighting with Thanos over control of the gauntlet. He frantically fought his way towards his friend but the mass of Chitauri, Outriders and members of the Black Order impeded his path. He’d watched, helpless as the two fighters broke apart, power crawling up Tony’s arm and he knew what his friend was about to do.

            Loki froze as a wave of power washed over not just him, but the entire cosmos. He tripped from the force of it, scraping up his hands as he landed. Around him, Thanos’s army began to disintegrate. He knew he should feel happy that they’d won but the feeling was overshadowed by fear and grief. Loki scrambled back to his feet, tossing his helm aside and racing towards his fallen friend. “Tony!”

            He slid to his knees beside where Tony had collapsed. Tony’s right arm and half of his face had been burned away from the power of the Stones. Tears blurred his vision as he brought his hands up, letting his seiðr flow. “I can… I can fix this.”

            Belatedly he heard something heavier land beside them and his name being called. He glanced behind him and saw the distorted vision of his brother racing towards them. He turned back to Tony but… It wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working?

            “Mr. Stark?” the Spiderling cried, rushing to his father’s side. Loki could hear tears in the boy’s voice. “Hey… Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It’s Peter. We won. Mr. Stark…? We won, Mr. Stark. We won and you did it, sir. You did it.” The boy began crying in earnest, head bowed against Tony’s chest. “I’m sorry… Tony…”

            Loki could tell Tony was having a hard time breathing. He refocused his seiðr on Tony’s vital organs. Something hot ran down over Loki’s lips and he could taste the tang of blood.

            He felt hands clasp his upper arms, “Brother?”

            “I can heal him,” Loki insisted. There was more movement on the edges of his vision. The Spiderling was pulled away gently and Pepper took the boy’s place.

            “Hey,” Pepper said, her voice breaking.

            Tony twitched and his voice was barely above a whisper when he said, “Hey, Pep…”

            “F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” Pepper asked.

            “Life functions critical,” replied the AI.

            Loki shook his head, redoubling his efforts. He was not about to give up. Morgan would not lose her father.

            Pepper reached out, her hand coming to rest on his forearm. Her blue eyes shone with tears. “Loki, honey. Stop.” 

            Thor’s arms encircled Loki, his hands gently taking hold of Loki’s wrists and pulling them away. He could feel his brother leaning against his back. They rocked gently and Loki began to sob, his tears running freely. “But… I can…”

            “The damage is too great,” said Thor softly, his head resting against Loki’s. Thor gently wiped the blood from Loki’s face then clasped his wrists once more. “You’re only hurting yourself.”

            He didn’t care. What did it matter if he hurt himself, if only he could heal Tony? It wasn’t fair! He should be able to heal him. All of the knowledge he’d accumulated over the past thousand years was useless against the power the Stones.

            “Tony, look at me.”

            Pepper’s voice made Loki raise his head. She’d placed a hand on her husband’s chest, above the fading reactor. “We’re gonna be okay. You can rest now.”

            Tony’s eyes never left his wife and he managed a small smile. His reactor flickered once more before finally fading for the last time. Tony Stark was dead.

            Pepper sobbed quietly, collapsing against her fallen husband. The battlefield had gone silent as the magnitude of their loss was realized. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair!

            Thunder rumbled in the distance. A raven cawed. A light rain began to fall, most likely in reaction to Thor’s emotions. They had won but it was a hollow victory.

            Loki tipped his head back against his brother. The falling rain mixed with his tears. Tony had died a warrior’s death. He was a hero and deserved the glory of Valhalla. He wasn’t quite sure why but he began to sing. The Asgardian funerary song easily falling from his lips.

            Thor squeezed him and joined, taking up the words with him. More voices rose among the remaining warriors as all the Asgardians began to sing. The song echoed out across the battlefield. Loki’s voice rose with the power of his grief. Eventually their voices became silent as the song came to an end. Loki’s tears had yet to cease.

            “We can save him.”

            Loki started at the voice. It had seemed to come from within his head, and sounded like a chorus. He glanced around; no one else appeared to have heard it.

            “We can save him.” The voice repeated. “We can save them all, if you will let us.”

            Who are you? Loki thought.

            “We will not harm you. We can help.” The voice was almost childlike. “Will you let us help? We can save them all.”

            Loki’s eyes fell on his friend. He lowered his head in grief, closing his eyes tightly. Truly, you can save him? Loki asked, hope slowly blossoming. You can bring him back?

            “Yes.”

            Then do it, save him. Please.

            Loki gasped and the world around him went white.

* * *

            Thor clung to his brother, his heart heavy with grief with the loss of Tony. They both sobbed, their cheeks wet with tears. Loki had feared this very thing coming to pass and Thor wished there had been some way he could have prevented it.

            Loki gasped and became still. One of his arms slipped from Thor’s grasp and he raised it towards Tony. Thor sat back slightly, arms still holding Loki’s shoulders. “Loki?”

            A glow seemed to surround his brother and as his hand rose, the glow seemed to encase Tony as well. Loki’s head was still bowed, though his hand found the center of Tony’s chest. Thor watched in amazement as Tony’s wounds began to heal.

            It was then Thor noticed the green stone hovering above the back of Loki’s hand. “Brother, what are you doing?”

            The answer came not from Loki, but Tony as his ARC reactor blazed and he gasped. Tony jerked as if he’d been shocked, his arms flailing and a cry falling from his lips. His eyes darted around at everyone gathered.

            “Tony!” Pepper cried, pure joy in her voice.

            “Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed.

            “Pep... I... how...?” Tony asked.

            They all looked to Loki, who pulled his hand back and slowly rose to his feet. Thor saw, not just Time, but all the Stones lazily circling his brother. “Loki?” Fear for his brother filled Thor.

            Thor stood, reaching for Loki. He grasped his arm to halt him. Loki’s head turned and Thor flinched away. Loki’s eyes swirled with every color of the Stones.

            “Damn,” Dr. Strange said.

            Tony had risen, in more ways than one, asking, “What do you mean ‘damn’?”

            “I’d thought this was where we won,” Strange sighed. Defeat causing his shoulders to slump. “I was wrong.”

            “But Thanos was defeated,” Thor said. “We returned everyone he snapped away.”

            “And now that Loki has the Stones he will complete what Thanos began.”

            “Are you crazy?” Tony demanded, just as surprised by that statement as Thor. “Loki would never do that!”

            “Loki is in league with Thanos.”

            “You are wrong, Stephen Strange.”

            They all turned to Loki, who had spoken. His voice had an echoing quality to it.

            Loki continued, “There were multiple possible ways in which the war could be won. Because of your dislike of our vessel, you simply disregard the ones in which our vessel had any part.”

            Wait, what? “Vessel?” Thor asked.

            “Yes. We are not Loki.”

            “Alright I’ll bite,” Tony said. “Who are you?”

            The Stones circling Loki seemed to move in an almost amused way. “We are of the Primal Source. We are Infinity.”

            “What does that mean?” Rogers asked.

            “Alone we are dormant, together with our vessel we gain sentience. We are the beginning and the end, life and death. We are the ones whom Infinity took her name.

            “You are the Stones,” Thor gasped.

            The being nodded. “Yes.” Its expression turned sad. “Our vessel grieved, we wished to take that grief away. At one time we were forced to inflict such pain upon our vessel; we needed to atone for the damage we caused.”

            “Is Loki...?” Thor couldn’t complete the question.

            Loki, or Infinity, seemed to know what Thor asked. “Fear not, your brother only but sleeps.”

            “How is this not killing him?” asked Rhodey.

            “It should,” Strange said. “That kind of power should be tearing Loki apart.”

            Infinity turned from them and started walking. As it did so, the Stones flew out and the smoke in the air dissipated. The ground began to shift and coalesce. Time seemed to move backwards while the site of the Avengers facility rebuilt. Even more amazing, the fallen warriors rose as life returned to them.

            Once complete, seemingly all signs of the battle had disappeared. The grounds were crowded with stunned warriors. Infinity stood nearby, the Stones returning to hover lazily around it. It held up its hand and Time, Space, Power and Soul hovered over its upturned palm.

            Thor stepped closer, the others following close behind. His fear for his brother was great, telling him to do something. Would this being take is brother? He couldn’t lose Loki, he couldn’t!

            “You wonder how it is Loki can harness our power,” Infinity said. The four Stones began to spin. “Loki Odinson; born of Laufey and Farbauti, son to Odin and Frigga. Brother to Thor, Anthony and Virginia, uncle to Morgan, was born to wield us.” Infinity smiled and when it spoke again it sounded more like Loki. Though no iris could be seen in Infinity’s eyes, Thor had the sense it was looking at him. “We can feel your fear. Be at ease, we have but one last matter in which to attend then we will take our leave.”

            “What’s that?” Tony asked.

            Instead of answering, the four Stones hovering over its hand shot into the sky. Space exploded to reveal a field of asteroids. Time flew forward, tendrils of green reaching into field, followed closely by Soul and Power. The asteroids started to spin, drawing closer and closer to a central point. They slammed into one another, a new form beginning to take shape with a burst of Power.

            A seemingly flat plain formed, water condensed, flowing over the side. A golden observatory emerged, a Rainbow Bridge leading away from it to connect to a large golden palace. Plains, mountains, rivers, buildings, animals, people appeared.

            “My god,” Tony said with awe, “Thor, is that—”

            Thor shook, his knees nearly giving out on him. He watched, tears filling his eyes. “A-asgard,” he stuttered.

            Time, Power and Soul met above the restored Realm Eternal then flew back through the portal created by Space. The portal closed and together the four Stones returned to dance around Infinity.

            The echoing quality to its voice returned. “Yggdrasil was wounded years ago. When Ragnarok comes for Asgard it is meant to come to all the worlds.”

            “I don’t understand,” Thor said. “Ragnarok was the only way to defeat Hela.”

            “That may have been true however the cycle of birth and rebirth failed to complete. The time had not come for the worlds to reset. Asgard was not meant to remain in pieces; therefore we have returned the Realm Eternal to its rightful place.”

            “I saw people...” Pepper said.

            Infinity nodded. “Yes, those who were lost have been returned as well.”

            Thor couldn’t have heard that right. “What?”

            “We offered those who were taken by Hela’s wrath the opportunity to return. Many accepted the offer.”

            “What did you mean by it wasn’t the time for the worlds to reset?” Strange asked.

            Infinity lowered its hand, turning to face them fully. “The cycle of birth, death and rebirth has come and gone many times. You have all existed before in many forms and will continue to exist long after these worlds end.” Infinity tipped its head to the side, almost birdlike. “One instance of this is what your people know as Norse Mythology. In a previous iteration of you all, those events happened as they have been written.”

            “Huh,” Tony said, “I guess that kinda makes sense.”

            “How’s that?” Rhodey asked.

            “Well, the Poetic Edda was written, like, a hundred years before they were born,” Tony shrugged. “I’d wondered how that could have been completed before they were even alive.”

            A small smile graced Infinity’s lips. “We must return from whence we came.” Mjölnir flew through the air until she came to a stop before Infinity. The hammer bobbed slightly, “Time to return home, young one.” In a flash of green, Mjölnir disappeared.

            “What about Nat?” Banner softly asked.

            Infinity turned its gaze on the large man. “A soul is the most powerful thing someone carries within them. When Thanos acquired our Soul,” it shook its head “he destroyed one whom he claimed to have loved with all of himself. He killed his daughter for his own benefit. Your friend,” Infinity held up a hand in which the Soul Stone hovered over, “is here. She sacrificed herself for the sake of others and also to ensure that you, Clinton Barton, would return to your family.”

            Thor hadn’t seen Barton make his way to them. The man’s hands were clenched into fists. “Was the guy on Vormir right?” Barton asked. “There’s no way to get Nat back?”

            “To sacrifice another for your own gain is one thing,” Infinity said as the gem began to glow. “To sacrifice oneself for the sake of others is something else entirely.”

            A blinding flash caused everyone to cover their eyes. When his vision cleared, Thor spotted another figure standing beside Infinity. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was.

            “Nat!” Barton cried, rushing forward to embrace the confused woman.

            “Clint?” Natasha asked. She cast her gaze around them. “What…? How…?”

            “We have returned you to your home,” said Infinity.

            Natasha continued to look confused as she was embraced by the others. She eyed Infinity warily, “Loki?”

            “No,” Infinity replied. “We require a sacrifice for our Soul to ensure the one who calls for us is worthy.” Infinity explained. “Thanos may have been capable of wielding our power and while he sacrificed one he believed he loved therefore fulfilling the sacrificial requirement, he was not truly worthy. You, on the other hand, gave up your life for the sake of others.”

            “Long story short,” Tony said to Natasha, “the Stones are sentient and Loki’s their vessel. Go with it.”

            Natasha raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything further.

            “We have completed what we needed to do,” Infinity said. “We will return to our own time.”

            “That might take a while,” Rogers said. “Thanos destroyed the time machine.”

            The smile Infinity gave to Rogers was similar to one an adult gives to a child. “You forget, Steven Rogers, we are Time itself. We need no machine to move through it.”

            Its head swiveled to face Strange. “Before you think to place our vessel within an endless void as a means of ‘protecting’ this world, remember our vessel helped to save it. Even when he first came here with an army provided by Thanos, his true intention had never been to harm anyone. Those acts were forced upon him. Also our vessel, if we have the phrase correct, would kick your ass should you two truly fight.”

            It turned its swirling gaze to Thor. “One last thing before we depart, Thor Odinson. We have returned Asgard to its rightful place among the Nine along with her people. Take care, for the next time Ragnarok comes for Asgard it will take all the worlds with it.”

            Thor nodded, “We will.”

            “Good. We have left one last gift for you and our vessel in Asgard. Farewell.”

            The Stones moved away, the aura surrounding Loki fading. Thor caught sight of Loki’s eyes returning to their normal green before they rolled up and Loki collapsed. Thor caught his brother before he hit the ground.

            Above them all, the Stones swirled, faster and faster until they disappeared with a flash of green.

            Silence hung over those gathered. Thor cradled Loki against him, looking for any signs of injury. “Loki?” he asked softly, cupping his brother’s cheek.

            Loki breathed evenly, his features lax with sleep. Thor could barely imagine the kind of power which had just been coursing through his brother. Thor took a shuttering breath, the wave of relief he felt so great he was beginning to tremble from it. He shifted his hold on Loki and stood, being careful not to jostle him lest he wake him.

            Thor’s eyes travelled up to the sky. Was it true? Had Asgard really been restored? Part of Thor wanted to find out while another was terrified of the answer.

            “Let’s get him inside,” Pepper suggested.

            Thor looked back at her and nodded, his legs still a little shaky. While he took a moment to gather himself so he didn’t drop his brother, he saw portals opening to send the warriors back to their homes. It hadn’t really occurred to him just how many people had come to fight.

            He followed Tony and Pepper back to the facility. He was aware of others trailing behind but he paid them no mind. All he cared about was finding a place for Loki to rest.

            As they were making their way back to the living quarters, Thor was surprised to see Nick Fury and Maria Hill walking towards them. They moved closer to one another and Thor could see the surprise on their faces at the sight of his brother. He did not intend to argue Loki’s presence.

            “Stark,” Fury said. “What the hell?”

            “Is that Loki?” Hill asked.

            “Yeah,” Tony said. “The last five years have been crazy and before you say anything he fought with us.” Tony gestured to their surroundings. “He just rebuilt all of this and brought back everyone who died fighting Thanos, including me.”

            “What?”

            “We definitely need to talk,” Fury said.

            Thor did not intend to remain for the rest of the conversation. He did stop and turn back around at the sound of another frantic voice.

            “Mommy! Daddy!”

            Thor watched with a smile on his lips as his niece ran to her parents. He was a little surprised as her presence but it warmed his heart to see their family whole. A fresh wave of relief washed over him when he realized they would not have to explain Tony’s death to the three year old. The looks of surprise on Fury and Hill’s faces were quite amusing.

            He caught sight of Happy trailing behind the little girl. The man appeared slightly winded.

            Tony and Pepper held their daughter close. Morgan spoke rapidly. Thor was only able to catch a few of her words. “Bad Man” and “fight” among the words he heard. Sometimes it still amazed him how quickly news could spread across Midgard.

            Morgan finally caught sight of him. “T’or!” She ran over to him, her parents trailing behind. “Ki!”

            Thor carefully sat on the floor, Loki laying across his lap. He realized how they must look when Morgan suddenly looked ready to burst into tears.

            “Is Ki sick again?” she asked.

            “No, he’s only asleep,” Thor was quick to reassure.

            “Youz gotz boo-boos,” Morgan pointed out.

            Thor realized they had an audience and began to wonder just how bad they looked. “They’ll heal.”

            “I gotz Ban’ aids.” She frowned slightly. “They’re princess Ban’ aids. I don’ gotz boy Ban’ aids.” Her eyes lit up. “How ‘bout kissy make it better?”

            “Kisses always make boo-boos better,” replied Thor.

            Morgan kissed him on the cheek then placed a kiss on Loki’s. “Better?” Morgan asked.

            “Yes.”

            “Morgan,” Tony said to get her attention. He knelt down before her. “Mommy and I need to go talk to some boring people for a while. Do you want to go with Thor and Loki until we’re done?” Tony looked at him. “If that’s okay.”

            “It’s fine,” Thor replied.

            Tony affected a serious tone. He held up his hand. “Do you promise to keep Thor and Loki out of trouble?”

            Morgan held her hand up as well and nodded. In as serious a voice a three year old could muster she replied, “I promise not to let Ki get caught.”

            Tony blinked, “That’s not...”

            From his lap, Loki snickered. His eyes blinked open though Thor could tell sleep still called to his brother. Loki mumbled something that sounded like, “taught her well.”

            “Ki!” Morgan cried happily. She spun, flinging herself at his brother. With Loki in his lap, her landing on them was a bit awkward. Loki let out a soft “oof.”

            “Loki?” Thor asked but it was clear his brother was already out again.

            “Let’s put Loki in bed,” Pepper suggested.

            “Kay,” Morgan pulled back to allow Thor to stand. Morgan and her parents followed them to Loki’s quarters.

            Once inside, Thor placed Loki on the bed then began to remove the heavier pieces of his armor. Morgan hugged her parents, promised to be good then crawled onto the bed so she could sit by Loki.

            “I have no idea how long this is going to take,” Tony said. He scrubbed his face with a hand. “God, five years to catch people up on.”

            “I’ll come once I have Loki settled.”

            “If you’re sure. I doubt we’ll really do a whole lot of talking today.” The door slid closed with a soft click as they left the room.

            “T’or,” Morgan spoke softly, “what happened? Uncle Happy didn’ want me to watch but the TV said bad things happened. Is that why ev’ry body gotz boo-boos?”

            Thor sighed, removing the last of Loki’s armor, leaving only his under tunic and breeches. “Do you remember what we’ve told you about the Bad Man?”

            Morgan nodded, her little fingers playing with Loki’s hair. “Uh huh.”

            Thor sat on the edge of the bed, his own armor starting to feel heavy. “Well,” he sighed, “the Bad Man came back from the past to try to win. There was fighting but after it was over and the Bad Man lost, Loki used his magic to fix everything the Bad Man did.”

            It looked to Thor that Morgan didn’t really understand what he’d just told her. How did one explain a battle for the universe to one so young?

            Thor stood, peeling off his armor and letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor. He went to the bathroom for a small basin of warm water and a cloth then returned to the bed where he could start cleaning some of the blood and grime from Loki’s face.

            He wrung out a second cloth and gave it to Morgan, who very gently patted a small cut on Loki’s cheek. When the little girl was satisfied with her work, she leaned down to place a kiss on the cut. When she pulled back, Thor saw the cut had closed. He shook his head, continuing his work.

            When he’d cleaned Loki as much as he could, he took both the cloths and the basin back to the bathroom. He cleaned himself up a bit as well. Thor knew it would be best for him to meet with Tony and the others so he could add his own insights from the battle. Once he’d returned to the bed tough, he did not want to get up again. Morgan sat in the small space between he and Loki and Thor turned on some cartoons for her to watch. He’d just rest his eyes for a little bit, then he’d go find the others…

* * *

            Awareness came to Loki slowly. Someone was running their fingers through his hair and it was quite nice. He could hear voices talking softly but was unable to clearly make out the words. He listened and the soft voices eventually lulled him back to sleep.

            The next time he became aware of his surroundings he realized he was curled around something. Soft hair tickled his nose and the scent of flowers reached him. He recognized it as the scent of Morgan’s children’s shampoo.

            His eyes snapped open and he shot up, jostling the little girl in his arms. He looked around, finding himself back within his quarters at the Avengers facility.

            “Ki, you okay?” Morgan asked, looking up at him.

            “I…” His gaze roved around the room once more. He saw Thor laying to his right, fast asleep. The TV played cartoons quietly and Loki had no idea what was going on. Piled on the floor in one corner of the room were his and Thor’s dirt and blood covered fighting leathers.

            Memories returned to Loki in a flash. Thanos’s destruction of the facility, the battle, Tony’s death. He looked around the room again. If all that had happened then how were they here? The facility had been destroyed.

            Perhaps they weren’t in the facility but at another location. The room looked like the one he had occupied though and Morgan didn’t appear to have been crying. Maybe they hadn’t told the child about the death of her father. Maybe he had died and this was his own personal Hel.

            Loki slowly left the bed. He really had nothing to discern this room from the one he had occupied at the facility. He had done nothing to personalize his quarters. Perhaps this was a new location. Yes, that made the most sense.

            “How long have I been asleep?” He didn’t remember falling asleep. His last memory he’d been kneeling by Tony’s corpse. A wave of grief washed over him and he swallowed hard. They’d explained death to the best then of their ability to Morgan when Loki had contacted Seiðr-Eyða. While he’d managed to survive the disease having to explain to Morgan that her father was never coming back was possibly the worst thing to come of this.

            Morgan shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s dark outside. Mommy and daddy said they had to talk to the man with one eye.” She covered her left eye with one hand. “They said they’d bring back pizza for me.” She frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. “You never said your daddy is a pirate, Ki.”

            And now Loki was completely confused. “My daddy?”

            “Yeah,” Morgan said. “He’s gotz a beard like Santa but he’s only gotz one eye. Is he Pirate Santa?”

            “W-what?” Had Loki taken more hits to the head than he’d realized? Morgan was not making any sense to him. Maybe this is a dream, Loki thought. A very intense, very weird dream. That was the only logical conclusion Loki could come up with. He moved to the window and looked outside. The familiar landscape of the facility greeted him. Yes, this had to be a dream.

            The door to the room opened and hushed voices entered. The scent of pizza triggered Loki’s stomach to rumble. He turned and it was only by sheer force of will that he remained standing.

            “Think they’ll wake up for pizza?” Tony asked, shifting the boxes in his hands so he didn’t drop them as he entered the room.

            “Ki’s awake Miss Figga,” Morgan said.

            “I see that, darling.” Frigga replied as she moved around the bed to where Loki stood. Behind her stood Tony, Pepper and… Odin? Frigga took his face in her hands and turned his head to meet her eyes. “Breathe Loki.”

            He sucked in a breath and stumbled away from her, back to the bed. He dropped down and started to shake Thor. Thor only groaned. “Wake up,” Loki hissed.

            “Loki, everything is okay,” Pepper said.

            “No it’s not,” Loki replied, digging his fingers into the meat of Thor’s arm, “because I think I have lost my mind.”

            “Ow,” Thor cried out, grabbing Loki’s hand. “Loki what the Hel?” Loki grabbed Thor’s chin, forcing his gaze to find the others in the room. “Oh…” Thor sat up, several emotions playing out across his face. "Mother? Father?"

            “You are not imagining things,” Odin said.

            “Really?” Loki asked. “I must be hallucinating or something because three of you are—” His throat closed on him before he could finish speaking.

            Tony rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, about that. It actually happened, all of it but uh… Apparently you’re some kind of vessel for the Stones and they fixed everything and brought us,” Tony gestured to himself and Loki’s parents, “back. Oh, and it brought Asgard back too.”

            Loki still could not believe what’s he was hearing. It was too good to be true. To think all of the devastation caused by Thanos’s attack had been erased by some entity created by the Stones. If it was that simple then why hadn’t the damn thing prevented it all in the first place?

            Something must have shown in his expression because his mother moved to sit in a chair that had been placed beside the bed. He briefly recalled someone running their fingers though his hair earlier. Had that been her?

            “If it was that simple, why would it not have been done in the first place? That is what you are wondering, aren’t you,” Frigga asked.

            “It is a valid question,” Loki replied.

            “It is,” Odin replied. “Which is why we asked the entity the very same thing.”

            “You did?” Thor asked.

            “Yes,” Frigga said. “According to the entity, the reason it could not simply prevent the events leading up to that time was due to its unwillingness to take its vessel by force.”

            Tony and Pepper looked intrigued by Frigga’s words as well. “The Stones were sentient from the beginning?”

            “Not as such, they did not gain true sentience until they came together within Loki.” She reached out tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear. “The entity would not act until you allowed it.”

            “Didn’t you mention something about the Stones seeming to be whispering to you?” Tony asked.

            “Yes,” Loki replied, thinking back. “I refused to listen.” He ran a hand over his head, tugging at his hair slightly. “Are you saying that if I had just listened then the battle never would have had to take place?” Tony would not have had to kill himself so they could win.

            His mother gently pulled his hand from his hair and held it between her own. “They recognized that they had previously hurt you greatly, dearheart, and refused to do so further. They knew you were only protecting yourself when you refused their whispers.”

            “And you and father?” Loki asked.

            It was Thor who answered. “Before it left, it said it had left us a gift in Asgard.” He turned to his parents, “You were our gift.”

            “We were,” his father said with a nod.

            “We’ve been passing the time talking,” Pepper said. “None of us wanted to wake you.”

            “Yeah, you’re mommy’s really nice,” Mogran said, pushing him to sit then lifting his arm so she could nestle against his side. “She does magics like you but I still like you better.”

            “Morgan,” Pepper chastised.

            Frigga laughed, “It’s all right.”

            “I still say your daddy’s Pirate Santa,” Morgan said, side eyeing Odin.

            Loki didn’t know why but he suddenly had an image of his father fully decked out in a Santa suit. He wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry.

            “You’re… you’re really alive?”

            “We are sweetie,” Frigga said.

            “Thor buddy,” Tony said, concern lacing his voice. “You okay there?”

            Loki turned his gaze to his brother and saw by his expression that Thor was just as stunned as he was. Also, “Why do you have Band Aid’s all over your face?”

            “I fixed your boo-boos,” Morgan proclaimed proudly.

            Pepper chuckled, “Yeah, you’ve also got…” she motioned to her face.

            Loki reached up and felt a Band Aid on his right cheek and one along his left eyebrow. Thor’s face was covered with them, as were parts of his arms, now that Loki really looked. “I don’t understand any of this.”

            “We were offered a second chance,” Odin said. “Your mother and I realized there were many ways in which we failed you. We decided to take the opportunity given to us to try and make up for those failures.”

            “I know you’re all trying to have a moment here but the pizza’s getting cold and I’m hungry,” Tony said. “Who’d have thought being, you know, d.e.a.d, would make someone so freaking hungry.”

            “That’s not funny Tony,” Pepper said.

            “It’s a little funny,” Tony replied.

            “Not even remotely,” Loki deadpanned.

            Tony opened the pizza box and Loki was hit once again with the scent of food. His mouth watered.

            “How long have you been here?” Thor asked their parents.

            “Only a few hours,” Odin replied. “We returned to life the same time Asgard was restored. Your mother insisted we seek you out, first thing.”

            “How does that even work?” Loki asked.

            “Told you,” Tony said around a mouthful of pizza, “the Stones used you to fix everything.”

            “The amount of power you channeled,” Thor peeled some of the Band Aid’s from his face, “was something I have never seen before.”

            “I don’t remember it at all,” Loki said.

            “Well, Infinity said you were asleep so I doubt you would.”

            “Infinity?”

            “The name the,” Thor looked thoughtful, “‘entity’ called itself.”

            “I liked how it said that in a fight you would kick Strange’s ass.”

            “Daddy!” Morgan laughed.

            “What?” Tony asked, eyes wide as he looked at his daughter. “I wish I could have gotten a picture of the look on Strange’s face at that.” He put a slice of pizza on a plate and gave it to Morgan. “Eat squirt.”

            Loki ripped off a small piece of Morgan’s pizza to which he received an exclamation of, “Ki, get your own pizza!” and took a bite. “I still don’t understand. Everything that happened, the attack and… It really appears as if it never took place?”

            Pepper looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure I would say that. All of us remember it and there’s a surprising amount of footage that’s been popping up all over the news and internet.”

            Tony suddenly choked on his pizza as he laughed. “God I just had a thought.” He turned to Loki with a huge grin. “You helped save the world and not only brought back everyone who, uh, didn’t make it, you also brought back Asgard. Ross is gonna have a coronary.”

            There was a pleasant thought. Loki still hated the Ambassador. He returned to their original topic of discussion. “I don’t even remember coming here.”

            “You didn’t,” Thor said. “Not under your own power anyway. After Infinity left you, you were in a deep sleep. I brought you here and I guess I fell asleep myself.”

            “I know it is a lot to take in,” Frigga said, “and I am sure it will take even longer to truly sink in but we are here and have no plans to leave you anytime soon.”

            “We will help you in whatever way we can,” Odin added.

            “You’ll be king again?” Thor asked hopefully.

            Odin made a face, “Hardly. You are king now, that is your mantle to bear.” Thor’s expression fell at Odin’s words.

            “There is still a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done,” Pepper said. “All those who were brought back are going to need to adjust to the world now. I’m sure the same adjustments are going to be needed back on Asgard.”

            “What do you mean?” Loki asked.

            “Infinity brought back all those killed by Hela as well,” Thor said. “Or so it claimed.”

            “Really?” Loki really needed to stop being surprised by everything he was hearing. Hela was still a rather sore spot for the brothers. He looked to his father. “Thank you for telling us about our homicidal older sister, by the way.”

            Odin had the decency to look contrite. “Yes, well… If circumstances had been different—”

            “You still wouldn’t have told us anything.”

            They fell silent, the sound of the cartoons on the TV the only noise in the room. Tony eventually broke the silence. “You know, since there isn’t massive property damage this time,” Loki rolled his eyes, “I say we just go with it for now. We can all have our nervous breakdowns later.”

            “Wonderful idea,” Loki said drily. “Because burying everything always works out in the end.”

            “Hey, aren’t you the one who, and I quote, ‘ascribes to the Dean Winchester School of Dealing with Feelings’?”

            “Oh Norns,” Thor moaned. “Not that again.”

            “You know this makes you Sam, right?” Loki asked Tony.

            “Excuse you,” Tony said. “I’m Castiel.”

            “In what universe? I’d say Bobby but you’re not quite that cantankerous. Maybe Ash.”

            “Ash bites it in season two! And besides, wouldn’t you be an archangel?”

            “Slow dancing aliens,” Odin said.

            All eyes turned to the Allfather. “Come again?” Thor asked.

            Odin waved a hand, “It was one of the pranks used in the first Trickster episode.”

            “How do you know about Supernatural?” Thor cried.

            “I spent nearly four years on Midgard. One of the other residents had a daughter who enjoyed the show quite a bit. They would occasionally watch it together.”

            “I don’t believe this,” Thor said, putting his head in his hands.

            Loki smiled, his eyes taking in everyone within the room. To have fought a battle for the universe and win was something he’d never really imagined. They’d managed to somehow come out, not unscathed as the emotional wounds were still there, but physically unharmed was a miracle.

            Loki looked at Morgan who had pizza sauce on her cheek. He wiped it off then swooped in to plant a kiss on her cheek. Morgan giggled and it was music to Loki’s ears.

            They still had problems that would need to be taken care of. All those taken in the Snap were restored, as was Asgard and her people. There was a lot of work ahead of them and it was going to take time. Loki found he didn’t care about any of that at the moment. At some point, the magnitude of what they had done would hit him but for how he was just going to sit here, surrounded by his family, eating barely warm pizza and watching cartoons. The rest of the universe could wait.

Chapter Text

I had a hard time coming up with a way to get Thanos into the future since Loki was obviously going to be able to tell that the Nebula who returned was not the one who left. That was a pain to work though. With the way the story is structured it would have all happened behind the scenes, hence the vision Loki has.

Lang’s misconceptions of Loki and Thor’s relationship was so much fun to write. I wasn’t even trying for something like that to happen. Loki just wrote that damn scene himself.

So, Tony’s death. I felt I needed to keep that part of the story since it was such a huge part of Tony’s character. Obviously, he wasn’t going to stay dead, that would just be silly.

If you notice, I changed how Tony referred to Steve. At the beginning he calls him “Rogers” and by the end it’s “Steve.” I did that to illustrate that Tony’s putting their past behind him.

In reviewing the movies and whatnot, I came to realize that Loki really has had the most contact with the stones. Seriously, outside of the first Thor movie, Loki has come into contact with or been in close proximity at least one stone per movie.

Let’s review: Avengers – Space and Mind

                 TDW – Reality

                 Ragnarok – Time

                 Infinity War - Power

I wanted to use that to my advantage and making him the “vessel” for the stones seemed to me to make the most sense. It would explain so much about Loki’s character and also that he’s always been a force for change, both in the comics, movies and mythology.

I tend to write to music and while some music has influenced the previous stories this was the one I really felt need to be mentioned.

Portals is the song used in the movie for, obviously, the portal scene.

Portals – Here

The song Loki, Thor and the Asgardians sing is here. This is an absolutely gorgeous song. Though they only sing up until the reading from the Poetic Eda, which is at the very end of the song (the last two versus of the lyrics). This might be a little morbid but when my time comes this is the song I want played at my funeral. The band is called Wardruna and they are awesome!

Helvegen – Here

Norwegean                                                     English

Hvem skal synge meg                                     Who shall sing me

i daudsvevna slynge meg                                into the death-sleep sling me

når eg på Helvegen går                                   When I walk on the Path of Death

og dei spora eg trår er kalda, så kalda             and the tracks I tread are cold, so cold

Eg songane søkte                                            I sought the songs

Eg songane sende                                           I sent the songs

då den djupaste brunni                                   when the deepest well

gav meg dråper så ramme                               gave me the drops so touched

av Valfaders pant                                            of Death-fathers wager

Alt veit eg, Odin                                             I know it all, Odin

var du gjømde ditt auge                                  where you hid your eye

Hvem skal synge meg                                     Who shall sing me

i daudsvevna slynge meg                                into the death-sleep sling me

når eg på Helvegen går                                   When I walk on the Path of Death

og dei spora eg trår er kalda, så kalda             and the tracks I tread are cold, so cold

Årle ell i dagars hell                                        Early in the days end

enn veit ravnen om eg fell                               still the raven knows if I fall

Når du ved helgrindi star                                When you stand by the Gate of Death

og når du laus deg må riva                              And you have to tear free

skal eg fylgje deg                                            I shall follow you

over Gjallarbrua med min song                       across the Resounding Bridge with my song

Du blir løyst frå banda som bind deg!            You will be free from the bonds that bind you!

Du er løyst frå banda som batt deg!               You are free from the bonds that bound that you!

Døyr fe, døyr frender                                     Cattle die, kinsmen die

Døyr sjølv det sama                                        You yourself will also die

men ordet om deg aldreg døyr                       but the word about you will never die

vinn du et gjetord gjevt                                  if you win a good reputation

Døyr fe, døyr frender                                     Cattle die, kinsmen die

Døyr sjølv det sama                                        You yourself will also die

Eg veit et som aldreg døyr                              I know one that never dies

dom om daudan kvar                                      the reputation of those who died

The song is from TDW but it seemed fitting for when Loki (as Infinity) rebuilds Asgard.

Asgard - Here