I don't own anything except any original/own characters and any original plot.

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Chapter 31 - Loki

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Soul and Power Stones in space in 2014. Reality Stone in Asgard, 2013. Space, Mind, and Time stones in New York City 2012.

"All right. We have a plan. Six stones, three teams. One shot."

All of us changed into our Quantum Realm suits and walked in a classic dramatic superhero fashion to the machine.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that," I heard Rocket whisper.

"Right?"

"All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, jolly green."

"Tractors engaged."

"You sure you don't wanna come with our group? It'd be great for you to see the Ancient One again," Steve gave my hand a squeeze.

"I'm sure. There are people I need to see on Asgard, people I need to talk to," I smiled reassuringly. Steve picked up on what I was implying.

"Alright. I understand how much you miss them. Stay safe."

Smirking, I shrugged, "You know me, safety is my middle name."

"Actually, it's Vala, which is prettier," Nat chuckled from behind us, "Look alive team! Get into your groups. See you in a minute."

All of us shrunk and were sent back in time.

Rocket, Thor, and I popped up in the lower levels of the Asgardian Palace, just outside the prisons to avoid suspicion, although they wouldn't do anything to me. It would be Rocket and Thor that were questionable, considering Thor wasn't his usual self and Rocket was completely new.

"Everyone stay close together and don't make any loud noises," I spread my hands out and cast an illusion around us, essentially making us invisible.

Slowly, cautiously, we moved across the prison floor, staying silent as to not break the illusion. It wasn't until I saw Loki in his cell that my focus wavered. He was lying there, tossing an apple repeatedly into the air.

"You guys go ahead, there's something I need to do," I whispered, waving the two off as I stepped out of the illusion.

"Wha- wait, (Y/n)-" Rocket tried to pull me back, "We have a mission."

"Getting the Reality Stone wasn't my only mission. You'll be fine without me, and we have coms if you need help. Go."

By the time Thor and Rocket moved on, and I turned back to Loki's cell, he was already staring at me in interest, sitting up on his bed. Waving awkwardly, I approached and easily phased through the glass thanks to the Talisman.

"Hey, Loki," I greeted quietly, sitting on the bed next to him, "It's good to see you again."

Loki stood, and stepped in front of me, frowning deeply. Rolling my eyes, I opened my arms. Without hesitation he fell to his knees and hugged me tightly. Ironic, that he was the one ready to break down when I had been the one mourning him.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be alright," I stroked his hair, lying through my teeth. It filled me with guilt, but there was no way I could tell him everything about the future, especially his ill-timed end.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on Earth with the Avengers," Loki hissed out the word, but calmed down as soon as I squeezed him tighter, "You left me alone. You refused to join me... Why?"

"You were under the scepters control, misguided, and frightened of what would happen to you if you didn't obey. I couldn't condone that and encourage you by joining. But I never wanted to leave you like this."

Loki stood again and sat down across from me, picking at his palm as he often did when he was nervous. Sighing, he asked, "You never answered why you're here."

"I'm here... on a mission for something important," I stated slowly, careful not to reveal too much. But Loki could always see right through me. He got that from Frigga, his third eye. Even though I taught him magic, I could never teach him the True Sight he held naturally.

"You can't lie to the God of Lies (Y/n). What are you doing here? You can trust me, you know you can."

Lip quivering, I pulled him into another hug. I missed him. I missed him more than anything. For five years I had thrown myself into work and my family to avoid the truth. I could get the Avengers back, but Loki was gone. Keeping him close, I explained everything. Well, not everything. Just that I was from the future and that I was on an important mission that would determine the fate of the universe.

"I could tell it's been hard for you. There was something different about you. You've aged. Tell me, what is your future like?"

"Loki I can't-"

"Not the mission. Just tell me about you," Loki gripped my arms, staring deep into my eyes.

Giving in, I admitted, "I married Steve on my home planet after the Avengers disbanded for a time. I found my magic relic, and fixed my relationship with my family. I... I had a daughter. Her name is Elora."

Loki's eyes widened, "Elora. It's beautiful. I'm happy for you (Y/n). The future may have been hard, but it's gifted you with a great many things. Tell me, am I in it?"

My heart stopped. Breathing out shakily I nodded, "You are." And it wasn't a lie. Because I wouldn't let Elora grow up without knowing about Loki. I'd be doomed to qwip if I did, "I need to go."

"Wait," Loki grabbed my hand before I could phase out of the prison, "Do you- do you think things could have gone differently for us? Do you think we could have..."

A small smile appeared on my face at the thought, "Perhaps in a different timeline. Or reality. Maybe there's a reality where I was born on Asgard, and we fought together through everything, got married-"

"Made it through a land of gods and monsters?" Loki finished, chuckling bitterly, "I'd have loved to see that come true. Yet here we are."

"I love you Loki," I whispered, smiling through my rising emotions, "Never forget that. We didn't work out, but that doesn't mean I don't care for you. You have and always will be my best friend."

"Goodbye (Y/n)."

With that I stepped out of the cell and hurried up to the main level, almost immediately running into a sprinting Rocket.

"What's going on?" Without question I ran along with him.

"The guards!"

As if on cue, guards behind us yelled, "Get that rabbit!"

Thor and Frigga were just ahead of us. Rocket stopped momentarily, panting, "Hey. You must be Mom. I got the thing. Come on, we got to move."

"Frigga, I miss you, I love you, you're amazing!" I gave the woman I tight hug, "Wow, that was really nice. This has been a good time travel trip for me."

"You two ready? Three... two..."

"No, wait!" Thor held out his hand. I gasped knowingly. I hadn't even thought about Mjolnir.

"What am I looking at?" Rocket questioned.

"Oh, sometimes it takes a second."

Mjolnir slammed into Thor's hand, and he laughed joyously, "I'm still worthy."

"Awesome," I rolled my eyes, "Just what we need right now."

"Goodbye, Mom."

"Goodbye."

We slammed our hands down onto our watches and were sucked back home. Upon arrival, everyone shared relieved and amazed looks. By all counts, we had achieved the impossible.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce broke the happy silence.

"You telling me this'll actually work?"

It wasn't until we took count of who was there that we realized something was off.

"Clint, where's Nat?"

The silence that followed was deafening. It was like death was breathing down our necks, letting us know what had happened and what our fates could be.

"No," my hand went to cover my mouth in a feeble attempt to muffle my sobs, "She can't... she can't be gone!"

Steve was by my side in an instant, hugging my tightly without delay. I just got back from speaking to a fallen friend, I couldn't lose another one. It couldn't... not Nat. Not the woman I called sister. Not the first person I told about my newest pregnancy.

The cost was great.

~*~

"May Atreya guide your soul high above. May you rest in heaven, run through the fields of Valhalla, meet your creator and know that your sacrifice paved the way to a universe of peace. Your life was not easy, nor did you spend all of it on the right side, but... you did it Nat. You cleared the red from your ledger."

Sitting on the end of the lakes dock, the original team watched as I pressed a crystal to Nat's ballet shoes. They glowed brightly, and shifted into lights similar to fireflies, floating into the air until no longer visible.

"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asked quietly as we moved away from the impromptu funeral service. We didn't even have a body to bury.

"Yeah. Us."

"You're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead?" Thor laughed in disbelief, "We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right? So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."

"We can't get her back. It can't be undone. It can't."

"I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive don't you think? Right, (Y/n)? You know magic and you're from space."

I shook my head silently and Clint continued, "Look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she? It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the great floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him... It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it."

In a fit of anger Bruce grabbed the nearest bench and hurled it across the lake. That anger quickly turned to sadness, "She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to."

"We will."

With that, all of us went back inside. What more could we do? We had a job to do, people to save/bring back. Mourning had to be held back in favor of more important things. When we stepped inside, Bruce and Tony went off with Rocket to finish the new gauntlet, leaving the rest of us waiting anxiously outside.

"We're good," Bruce summoned us inside. The gauntlet was resting on a holder in the middle of the room.

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket crossed his arms.

"I'll do it," Thor offered without hesitation, rushing to the gauntlet.

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey-" everyone jumped to stop him from reaching the glove.

"Wait, wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet," Steve stated the obvious.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

"We should at least discuss it," Scott argued.

"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. Just let me. Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something great."

Putting a hand on his shoulder, I gently pulled him back, "Thor, you saw what that glove did the Thanos in his prime, and you're in no condition. It'll kill you."

"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"Cheez Whiz?"

"Lots of alcohol?"

Rhodey and I shared tired looks as each of us suggested a very likely candidate for what was running through his veins.

"Lightning."

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me," Bruce finally spoke up, "Like (Y/n) said, you saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?"

"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like... uh... I was made for this."

No one argued against Bruce's proposal. Even Thor stepped down at the offer, because all of us knew Bruce was our best shot.

"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," Tony instructed plainly.

"Got it."

I shifted into my uniform, stepping behind Steve as he held up his shield. Everyone around us prepared their suits as well, unsure what kind of power we'd be dealing with.

"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Protocol 8," Tony requested politely.

The compound went on lockdown, thick sheets of metal covering the windows, walls, and glass roof.

"Everybody comes home," Bruce mumbled to himself before slipping on the gauntlet. The surge of power was obviously overwhelming, and Bruce grunted in pain,

"Take it off. Take it off!" Thor yelled in panic.

"Wait! Bruce, are you sure you can do this?" I asked before we continued.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Bruce screamed, fighting through the pain. He lifted his arm and snapped his fingers. A bright light coursed through the room, and he fainted. As soon as the gauntlet slid off his arm Clint kicked it away.

"Don't move him," Tony ordered.

"Did it work?"

"Worth a shot. It's over. It's okay."

The metal moved away from the outside. My Spacial com rung in my pocket, pulling it out curiously, I laughed upon seeing Varian's name.

Fup xen nersh wanushi?

Looking to the sky, my grin felt unending. We did it. I was ready to turn my attention back to my com so I could respond until something caught my eye in the sky. It almost looked like-

"Get down!"

Boom!