may your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground and carry on
Chapter One: Mistress Death Meets The Fallen Avengers
Gamora had only herself in this desolate orange place. She had no concept of time whatsoever, it felt only like hours but she knew it must not be just hours. But how could she know?
Sometimes she tried to sleep while other times she just walked along with the place only for it to change to her old room on the Milano. It was too painful to sleep in here, so she slept in the pilot's seat (Peter's seat) and just stared off until her seat changed. Everything changed, to be exact meaning that something must have happened.
Gamora tensed as she heard the quickening of footsteps which was impossible because only to her knowledge she was the only soul in this place. How?
"Hello?" She called out. A beat passed and Gamora hoped that it wasn't her imagination making someone up just because she was starved of companionship, of someone anyone to see- "Hello?" The voice, a feminine voice called out to her.
Gamora got up from her seat, it was the pilot seat as the place changed. It looked like a big fancy area. Probably on some planet that whoever was here lived in. As Gamora turned another corner, she was in an office with too many windows an a lone person with red hair, the tips of it ending in striking ashy blonde. It was in a braid, as the person whipped around to see her.
She had her guns trained and all Gamora, small tiny defenseless Gamora could do was put up her equally tiny fists ready to fight. As she was taught to do at such a young age by her father.
The redhead woman looked at her before putting down the guns.
"Your Nebula's sister. Gamora." The woman stated it as if it was a fact. It was a fact because even though it was true she still had no idea how this person knew about her sister or herself unless... maybe, it could be possible?
"Are you one of the Avengers Thor talked about?" She asked tentatively to the stranger. The person's eyes looked at her before saying yes, she was one of the Avengers.
It was no problem figuring out how she got here, the same way Gamora was here in the first place. This person ended up with the same fate she had.
"I did it, to give them a chance to fix everything." The redheaded Avenger told her-her name was Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow was her alias. "They are getting the stones to reverse what Thanos did, everyone will come back."
Gamora started to cry and carefully Natasha scooped the little girl int other arms. Gamora didn't fight it, didn't punch the stranger because she wanted a hug.
How long as it been since she's talked to someone? Been held by someone?
"How long as it been since I-since Thanos?" Gamora hiccuped. Natasha brushed a few strands of her purple hair away from her eyes. "Five years."
Natasha told her that this was Earth, at least the Soul Stone's version of it. This was the compound where the Avengers (Famous Valiant Destructive Earth Mightiest Heroes Avengers) lived. It was only the two of them now, as they laid in Natasha's old bedroom because Gamora didn't want to be alone anymore and Natasha didn't mind her company.
Hours or days passed by them, it was hard to tell as Gamora mentioned that to the woman. They didn't need to eat or sleep but they did so anyway. Food was always in stock here as Gamora knew it being stuck here for five years.
Five years that she has been dead. Five years since Peter, Groot, Mantis, Drax have been dead for those years from the deed that Thanos did.
His brilliant sadistic plan she thought to herself.
They thought they would be here forever, it seemed to be that way until another person came through and that's when everything changed even more.
Natasha was the one that was alerted, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, she whipped around her guns in hand pointing at the two figures.
A woman with jet black hair, a black and green jumpsuit and next to her was Tony fucking Stark. Natasha felt the air in her lungs stop because it happened, she could just feel it in her bones looking at Tony who tried to crack a smirk.
"Miss me, Agent Romanoff?" His voice cracked and that was enough for her. Natasha walked straight to him, pulling her dead friend into a hug. He didn't fight it, melting in her arms.
"We won Nat, we won." He said his voice with so much exhaustion that made Natasha's vision blurry as he started to sob. "It's okay Tony. You did it, you saved everyone."
"Can't take all the credit Agent Red," He said. "You're as much of a hero as I am. We both did it." He told her, pulling back to stare at her. He wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.
Natasha was about to introduce him to Gamora only to remember the scary goth looking, woman. She seemed to have walked away, sitting down on one of the seats in the board room next to a record player that seemingly appeared out of thin air. The Soul Stone usually did that some days, Gamora told her when she met the little girl.
It was playing an old song, possibly from the 1950s or 60s? Natasha wasn't too sure on the exact date but it sounded decades old.
Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away
"Well, I don't have all day," Goth Lady stated in a posh accent that sounded familiar to Natasha. She just couldn't pin-point it from where she heard it. They sat down, Tony, Natasha and Gamora on the side of the table as the song continued to play loudly. Tony looked at the recording before he turned towards Goth Lady.
"Rolling Stones... not bad pick Hot Topic." He said in an oh-so-Tony Stark way that Natasha was worried that Goth Lady was going to choke him. She didn't but looked annoyed at him. "I still have no idea how my brother put up with the likes of you pitiful mortals." She sniffed at them.
That caught both Avengers off guard. Brother? What brother? Natasha thought.
"And may I ask Hot Topic who your brother is?" Tony asked snarkily. Goth Lady smiled, her bright blue eyes gleaming surrounded by specks of green and the smudge of her eye makeup. "Why Thor, the god of whatever he is." She said waving her hand acknowledging that she didn't care about her brother's importance of godhood.
"Thor?" All three of them said at the same time in shock. "I thought Thor had a brother?" Gamora asked. Goth Lady rolled her eyes. "Ah yes, Loki. They're my little brothers, my name is Hela. I am the goddess of Death."
"Mistress Death," Gamora murmured, eyeing Hela with newfound wariness. Natasha didn't blame the kid one bit, now noting how the goddess got her. She's Death, of course, she can get into the Soul Stone, it was her area of expertise in a way. She was Death.
"So what do you want?" Tony asked. "You mentioned when you brought me here that you had some offer, what is it?" He sounded tense because the last time they faced Thor's sibling, New York was invaded by aliens. So, both Natasha and Tony weren't on the warm receiving to Hela.
"I came here to offer a do-over, for the sake of the universe." She stated, a serious tone taking over and now Natasha could see a bit in Thor in Hela, but she was wise enough not to mention that to her. They all thought the exact same thing, How? But she was Death if anything she could reverse it. Could she? "It needs to change and I believe you three are the best to change it."
"Why not Thor?" Tony asked bluntly. Hela shook her head, lips turning into a grimace. "He and I-Our relationship isn't chummy or warm, more like I see you and I kill you." She explained to the trio. They nodded, Tony and Natasha remembered Thor drunkenly, slurringly stating something about his sister. Hela's eyes that were turning dark green, glowing with power stared into their souls. "You three are the chance because, to be frank, you are dead. Hence, it'll be easier to send you three to a certain time before everything that has happened."
Tony exhaled a shaky breath. "How do we know this will work? Where will we land? Fuck, what year?"
"So many questions Anthony Stark," Hela smirked. "We don't know if it will work but we can try and not mess it up more, just change a few things. The biggest one obviously is stopping Thanos before it all went to hell. I will be there to talk and guide you three if needed but the rest is up to you three. You cannot let anyone and I mean anyone knows about the future, make sure the outcome isn't shot. For your sake and fate."
Natasha felt Gamora grasp her hand and she squeezed her hand tightly as tight as a little child could. "We can go back? But what time will we be landing in?" Gamora echoed slightly the last question Tony asked the goddess.
"Somewhere in time after you're," She pointed at Tony. "Proclamation as Iron Man in 2008. We begin there."
"And?" Tony questioned. Hela was still staring at them, eyes piercing them. Natasha wondered what made the goddess of death want to change everything, to have the fate of a whole timeline in the hands of these three dead heroes? "
"Because you three are the only ones at the beginning, so there will be a chance that-" She was cut off by Tony who's eyes were wide with hope, so much hope in them. "Everything in the future won't go to complete shit." Hela nodded as if telling them, Yep.
So they agreed to the outlandish plan because it wasn't the craziest adventure Tony and Natasha and even Gamora had been. They followed Hela into a circle, she created it and it looked black and bubbling ominously. Natasha didn't like it but what else could she do? Be stuck in here for eternity instead of changing the future? Nope, not going to happen.
The song that played on the record player was loud as they stepped through the portal.
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
Natasha looked at Hela, whose eyes held determination just like the rest of them. "Where will we be able to find you?"
"I'll be unable to contact you that much because of Odin's imprisonment on me, but I'll try. Maybe there's a chance that I can contact one of my idiot brothers, possibly Loki to change the tides. Once I get out or have enough power to contact the three of you. Good luck."
"Back at ya Hot Topic." Tony gave her a two-fingered salute before grabbing both Gamora and Natasha's hands and walked into the freaky bubbling black portal. Hela walked behind them and all Natasha could think was, Let's hope we can pull this off.
Then she blacked out.
When she woke up again, all that ran through her head was Holy shit, it worked! It actually worked.
Because she was back in her apartment in Malibu. She noticed her phone and grabbed it, the date on the screen was June 14, 2011. Natasha wanted to scream to the sky or to someone.
It worked, it worked, it worked, it worked, it fucking worked!
They were back in the past, before the attacks in New York, before Sokovia, and before Wakanda. Back before the Avengers were founded. Hell, before any of the founding Avengers were actually found like Steve, Banner, and Thor.
Her phone rang and she knew what it would be about, that Tony would ask her where she was. She was his assistant, undercover for SHIELD. God, that meant that Nick, Maria, and Coulson were alive.
Hela actually sent them back in time, so that meant Tony was in his Malibu home and Gamora... she was back in leagues with Thanos. Natasha hoped that she could hold herself against her adoptive father and escape earlier possibly with her sister. Natasha, like Tony, was fond of Nebula, so having her back would be good. They had a chance to do-over everything but they needed to regroup and plan this correctly. They couldn't just barge in an announce "Hey, we're from the future and here's the 411!" That would probably send them to some psyche ward or get questioned non stop by Fury for sure.
So, all Natasha could do is start the day as Natalie Rushman, going to the home of Tony Stark to get info for Fury, for him to begin the Avengers Initiative and for them to start slightly changing their future. Natasha hoped that Tony landed in the same exact year she did.
Because if he wasn't with her in this year, she was rightfully going to lose her mind.
"Good morning sir." The voice that Tony knew so very well greeted him in the morning. He wanted to cry as he slowly got up and looked around his Malibu room. He was back in Malibu before it got destroyed, his home.
"Jarvis," Tony croaked, trying to stop the sob that was so close to erupting. It was a long time since he heard is old AI speak, not since Ultron and that whole fiasco. "I-It's good to hear you."
"Likewise sir?" The AI said a bit confused. "Miss Rushman is here with food for you sir. Shall I-" Jarvis was about to ask something but was cut off by Tony who quickly said, "No, send her up, I need her input on some clothes."
"Very well sir." His AI said.
Tony got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. A few minutes later he was greeted by a familiar figure and Tony wanted to cry once more.
Get a hold of yourself Stark. I don't even know if this is the real Nat, Hela didn't explain if she was going to send us all to the same exact time.
"You ready for a do-over Stark?" She gave him a knowing smirk and that was all Tony needed for him to hug her. She was here, they were actually back in time. Natasha laughed and it sounded like Christmas for him. She sounded relieved to know that they were both from that future, brought to the past.
Tony pulled back his face with a shit-eating grin as he said to the spy, "Where do we start Red?"
Where to start, indeed.
NOTES: This is inspired by Tonysnxrk's post on Tumblr. With permission, I jumped ahead and wrote this in over two days after watching Endgame so obviously, there will be major spoilers.
The title is from a lyric from the song Carry On by FUN.
Songs that inspired this/helped me write this:
-Carry On by FUN
-Gimmie Shelter by The Rolling Stones
-Rock N Roll Train by AC/DC