A/N: This chapter is well over double my usual length, but I think it'll go back to short/regular length starting next chapter, so enjoy this while it lasts! Even though I have hesitations about this one - honestly, it's been done for days and I've been staring at it - but I cannot figure out why...

Back in Shuri's lab, they met a group of hopeful faces. Tony looked around the room, triumph fading and heart rapidly sinking as he noticed two missing faces. Their faces fell as he asked, "Where's Vision?"

Rhodey sank into a chair. "He remembered your warning, told us all after the fact, but he took a massive hit shielding Wanda. And he made you guys come here without going to the compound – Wong had to give me and Bruce a ride – but Shuri didn't have enough time. She was this close, but… It wasn't enough."

Hope scrubbed a hand over her face. "I guess you guys weren't sent back to warn him about that version, were you?"

Steve shook his head, shoulders slumping. "We went back to make that version happen. Just… not that way."

"We knew this could happen," Shuri murmured, leaning against Okoye. "Interfering with time… it rarely goes according to plan."

Clint pushed past Tony. "Where's Pietro?"

Bruce furrowed his brows. "Probably just running off his nerves. Why?"

Natasha rested a hand on Clint's shoulder. "We just needed to know he's all right."

A breeze blasted through the room, fluttering the sand on the sand tables. Shuri sneezed, shooting a glare at the pale-haired speedster now standing in front of Clint. "It doesn't matter – what about Vision?"

Clint froze for a heartbeat, drinking in the sight of the young man before him. His hair was still the familiar wavy mess, but he didn't hold himself with the arrogance Tony remembered, nor was there a challenge glinting in his eyes. He was just looking to Clint, searching for the answer he needed.

And instead of a plain running shirt, he now wore a proper suit – a long-sleeved, deep blue top, a white lightning bolt slashing across his torso from shoulder to hip. Its tip touched a silver belt, the small pockets along it the only non-aerodynamic thing about the suit. Below it, his pants faded to black, covered in delicate, swirling, pale blue lines.

Clint threw his arms around him. "Oh, thank god."

Pietro blinked, urgency giving way to confusion as he awkwardly gave Clint's back a pat. "Uh… Clint? You good?"

"You died in the timeline we just came from," Tony explained.

Pietro wriggled out of Clint's grip. "But I'm invincible."

"Not against Ultron's bullets, you weren't," Clint said, giving Pietro's suit a poke. "What is this, Kevlar?"

Pietro shrugged, pulling a protein bar from one of his belt's pockets. "I never paid attention when Stark was telling us about our suits. All I know is it mostly absorbs the force of any blow."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

Natasha pointed at the bar. "For your metabolism?"

Pietro nodded, taking a bite. "Clint's always yelling at me for eating mid-battle. Right before dragging me out to eat to recover. It's annoy- Wait, I died in Sokovia?"

Clint latched onto the first two sentences. "So we're still close? You, me, and Wanda?"

"Of course," Pietro said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "How did I die? I don't remember a point where I would have…"

"When you were pushing him and the kid behind the truck," Natasha answered. "We went back to save you."

"Technically, I did- Wait, what's my youngest kid's middle name?"

"Uh… Bartholomew. Why- Hold on, did you name your kid after me?"

"Oh yes, yes he did," Tony said.

Comprehension dawned in Pietro's eyes. Quickly followed by glee. "Oh, this is perfect. I can't wait to tell Wa-"

Reality returned like a punch to the gut, knocking all joy and humor out of the room. He crossed his arms tightly, looking down and clearing his throat, but his dangling bangs didn't quite hide the tears shimmering faintly in his eyes. "But it didn't work, did it."

A statement, not a question. Because if it had, the twins would be together again, together at long last.

Instead, they had brought him back, only to find him alone.

Clint reached out, hesitantly resting his hand on Pietro's arm, but the twinless twin shrugged him off, turning away. And no one quite knew what to say after that.

Luckily, a familiar rainbow out the window distracted them. They all turned to the door, hoping Thor would have better news.

He burst through the door, the other three panting a moment behind. Thor skidded to a halt, and Valkyrie narrowly avoided smacking into his back, though Nebula did whack into her. Tony stumbled back a step, wondering if he should be summoning his armor. Then he realized the shine in Thor's eyes was ecstasy, not fear.

"They're alive."

Tony's heart skipped a beat. He glanced back, meeting Rhodey's eyes as he bolted to his feet.

Pietro zipped to the front of the crowd, looking up to the god. "You know this?"

Thor nodded, a grin flickering across his face. "Loki's in neither Hel nor Valhalla – he's alive. And if he's alive…"

"Then so are the others," Shuri finished. Flanking her, Nakia and Okoye took hold of her hands, hope daring to spark in their eyes.

Scott held tight to his keepsake. "At the rate we're going, though, we'll never get them back. Thanos will attack us if we grab a Stone, and warning Vision didn't work at all. Well, I guess part of that mission did, but still."

Thor looked to Tony. "It's time to fight," he said, voice low, throbbing with urgent need.

That same need suddenly crashed over the room, but with it came a crushing weight. The weight of half the universe. The weight of the worlds of every person in this room. Half of Asgard's suddenly fragile population. Wong and Steve's best friends. Shuri, Pietro, Nebula, and Thor's siblings. Tony's soulmate, Tony and Scott's kids. Clint and Rocket's entire families. If they died in this fight, if they failed…

This wasn't a decision any of them could make alone.

"I agree," Tony said at Rhodey's nod, looking around. "Anyone else?"

Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye exchanged glances, and Shuri nodded. Then Bruce; Rocket and Nebula; Hope and Scott; Clint, Natasha, and Pietro; Wong.

Tony looked to Steve. "Are we agreed?"

A beat.

Then, slowly, Steve nodded.

"It's time to fight."

-MCU-

Loki limped forward between Sif and Gamora, his arms looped around their shoulders. Wanda led the way, the two teens bringing up the rear. It was slow going now, with the Stone doing its best to hide the portal's location from them. They had to stop frequently to let both magic-users rest.

"Here," Sif said, helping ease him to the ground. Loki leaned back against the tree, clutching a fistful of leather and biting back a moan. She smiled reassuringly, giving his shoulder a squeeze before going to talk with Gamora.

Wanda sat beside him, hitting the ground with a painful thud. He gave a sympathetic wince, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. She bent over, elbows leaning on her knees, face buried in her hands, her hair falling around her like a fiery curtain. "Ow."

"Let me," Loki said, brushing her hair behind her ear to get to her forehead.

She leaned away, catching his wrist. "You have your own pain to deal with."

"And we won't get anywhere if you can't concentrate," Loki pointed out.

She conceded the point with a nod. He slipped into her mind, searching amidst the memories for a trail of scarlet. Finding it, he followed it, adding his own strength to hers. It pooled in a misty orange map of the Soul Stone, dotted by golden doors. But one golden dot, the closest dot, was different, shining brighter, and appearing to dart around erratically. Closing his eyes, Loki focused on it, feeling the brush of Wanda's strength as she did the same.

It moved with blinding speed, like trying to keep track of your card as the so-called magician shuffled the deck with expert skill. His own head started to ache. Switching tactics, he instead searched for the epicenter of its movements, looking for the spot it constantly crossed or circled. "There," he whispered as he found it, lighting it up for Wanda to lock onto.

"Loki, are you doing that?"

His eyes blinked open, readjusting to the physical world. As he did, he noticed a swath of orange mist billowing in a nonexistent breeze. It settled slowly, the swath stretching into the distance, revealing a green-and-scarlet path. Aiming straight for the spot he and Wanda had found.

Loki looked down at his hands, but no magic sparked around them; Wanda's were equally inactive. He looked back up, tilting his head. "Perhaps it's the Soul Stone, helping us like it did with the bilgesnipe."

Gamora crossed her arms. "This is… a suspiciously blatant way of helping us."

"So was making the bilgesnipe just disappear."

"My spider-sense doesn't like this either," Peter said, tapping the path with the tip of one foot. "Something's gotta be waiting for us at the end of this."

"Agreed," Sif said. She hesitated, glancing at Loki. "If you two aren't leaving, perhaps it's best for you to turn back now."

To his surprise, Loki found himself hesitating to agree.

Gamora decided for them. "We leave no one behind," she stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. She hauled him to his feet, and he didn't fight it, wrapping his arm tightly around her shoulders.

Before they even made it five steps, Wanda collapsed with a cry of pain.

Loki turned to her, just before a new memory flashed through his own mind.

He hacked his way through Outrider after Outrider, panting beneath the Wakandan sun. He had all but lost track of the others, focusing on keeping himself alive and killing as many enemies as he could.

In his hands, Carita buzzed a warning. He turned, hair and cape flying, to see an Outrider barely a foot away, slavering jaws headed straight for his throat.

A pale blur slammed it aside.

The blur materialized into a man, swiping Outrider drool off his cheek. Loki blinked, mind still braced for imminent death, and at his hesitation, the man smirked. "What, you didn't see that coming?"

Before Loki could blink a second time, he was gone.

He slammed back to the present, blinking away the second memory of himself nudging the man aside to try his hand at convincing Wanda to kill Vision, his gaze darting to Wanda. "Pietro?"

She was huddled on her knees, one hand planted on the ground, the other buried in her hair. Her chest was heaving, her eyes wide and shimmering with tears. "They brought him back," she breathed, as if she hardly dared to believe her new memories. "Somehow, they saved him."

Peter knelt beside her, but she surged to her feet. "We have to go," she said, even her words seeming to stumble over each other in her haste. "My brother- I can't do to him what happened to me- I need to go-"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Gamora soothed, letting Sif take her place under Loki's arm.

"You hesitated," she murmured into his ear.

He shot her a glare, but his heart wasn't in it. Because she was right – he had hesitated. And now, watching Wanda dump her paradise to run back to her brother without a second thought… Thor would've done the same in her place.

Wanda suddenly stopped, turning to Loki, guilt flickering in her wide eyes. "I'm sorry…"

And can you really be happy when you know your brother is out there, alone and grieving?

I am Groot.

Paradise doesn't exist, Loki. Only illusions and reality. And I pick reality every time.

If they're in here, then we'll save them. And if they're out there, they're waiting for you.

Because good things are waiting for you, I can promise you that. It's certainly not going to feel like it, but believe me, being back at the new and improved Thor's side will make everything worth it.

A fact would've sounded something like 'Human lifespans are pathetic compared to Asgardian ones.' Admit it, you care.

Get some sleep, Spider.

You told Peter you were scared, you cried in Wanda's arms, you forgave Gamora for the torture. You've worked with us, joked with us, protected us. Maybe we don't actually care if you fight once we leave, although I do miss fighting beside you. We don't just need you to come with us, Loki – we want you to.

Loki shook his head. "I know. I… I know."

He had been in Thanos's clutches three times. And three times, he had lost. Violently. Brutally. Painfully. The idea of a fourth… Terror thrilled through him, his imagination shying away from the possible punishments if he was caught. Hiding in here, with a Thor and a mother and a wife… It was tempting. It was easy.

But easy had let Thanos corrupt him. Easy had let him "die" in Thor's arms, leaving his brother heartbroken. Easy had banished Odin. Easy had left him effectively alone for four long, long years. Easy had banished Sif, dooming her to never see Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, or Heimdall again.

Easy would leave Thor without a brother. Easy would leave Gamora, Sif, Wanda, Peter, and Groot to fight without him. And maybe they could survive that, but Loki would never know. He would hide in paradise for all eternity, while they fought and suffered and maybe died to fix a problem he had helped cause from the moment he gave up the Tesseract.

No. It was time to the take the hard path.

Everyone looked at him, hope sparking in their eyes, but he just looked at Sif. "Some illusions are good. Just not this one."

She smiled solemnly.

Gamora heard the shift in his tone, and she understood the decision he'd just made, in the way only she and Nebula really could. She stepped towards him, laying her hand over his. "We're here."

Not "We'll protect you." That was a fool's promise. But "We're here" – that he could agree to.

So he managed a half-smile, letting his fingers squeeze hers for a heartbeat. "I know."

I should've said goodbye.

-MCU-

Tony returned to Wakanda through the portal Wong made, holding a folded suit and a familiar symbol he had picked up from the compound. "Steve," he called across the bustling courtyard, holding the objects out where he could see. Steve came jogging over, eyes widening as he recognized what Tony was holding.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything, Cap."

Steve picked up the suit, sliding the shield onto his arm. It settled there as if it had never left, shining in all its patriotic glory. He smiled, running a finger around the edge. "Thank you, Tony."

Tony smiled back. "Suit up."

He jogged off to do just that. Pietro filled in his absence, zipping to a halt. "So… Wanda thinks I've been dead for three years?"

"She doesn't think it, she lived it," Tony corrected. He tilted his head, thinking. "Although we don't know which memories the dissolved will have. Maybe she got lucky, and she doesn't remember those three years."

Pietro rested his hand over one of his belt's pockets. "I hope so."

Tony looked at the pockets, resisting the urge to poke them. "What's in them? They don't really match the sleek speedster aesthetic."

Pietro shrugged. "Food, mostly. And they weren't there at first – you added them the first time I collapsed. And without Doctor Banner, it took you a few tries to design the protein bars I needed. Which, I suppose it wasn't you, technically, but- thank you for sending T'Challa the recipe for those… after."

Tony smiled. "I wouldn't let you starve, Pietro." He nodded to the pocket his hand still lingered over. "What about that one?"

He paused, then opened it, reaching in with gentle fingers. He pulled out two photos, handing them to Tony. One was old, faded and tattered – him and Wanda as little kids, with an adult couple Tony assumed to be their parents. The second had definite wear, but far less of it – it was of the twins with Clint and his family, with Lila perched on Pietro's shoulders, laughing. "I'm her favorite uncle."

Tony chuckled, handing them back. "I can imagine."

Pietro spun around as the door to the palace opened. Steve came jogging back out, shield on his back, wearing the new, more durable uniform Tony had finished designing even after their split. Its colors were brighter than the ragged Nomad suit, and he ran a couple fingers through his beard, as if itching to shave it off.

"Does this mean we're ready?" Pietro demanded.

"Someone's impatient," Clint teased.

"You try being able to move faster than everybody else but still having to wait for them all the time."

"That's fair," Tony said.

Steve nodded. "Yes, that's what it means."

Thor stepped up, looking around at the assembled heroes. "I'm taking us to Titan. He wasn't there earlier, but it's as good a place to start as any."

Tony tried to hide his swallow, but Rhodey clapped a hand over his shoulder. "I won't let you die in space, Tones."

Tony smiled wryly, summoning everything but a helmet.

Okoye stepped forward. "I can still come. So can our warriors."

Steve shook his head. "You and your people sacrificed more than enough trying to protect Vision – you're needed here."

"Believe me," Thor said, "you don't want to risk losing more."

"Perhaps you are correct – we cannot lose more of our army. But." She double-tapped the blunt end of her spear against the ground. On cue, the rest of the Dora Milaje came out of the palace, coming to attention behind their leader. "Believe me," she shot back, "we will fight for our king."

"And I would be honored to fight alongside you," Valkyrie said, shooting Thor a look. He conceded to her, dipping his head to the Dora Milaje. Okoye nodded sharply, and with that, Thor called the Bifrost.

Tony stepped not onto dust and ruins, but a flowering field beneath a shining sun.

In front of him stood an army. An army of towering Titans.

Led by a smirking, Gauntleted Thanos.

"Stark. I wondered when you would return," he drawled. Wounds tracked along his left arm, which was held stiffly at his side. His triumph wounded him.

Good.

Thanos gestured to Thor, flanked on one side by Nebula, Rocket, and Valkyrie. "I let them believe this place remained in ruins. If you really were going to attempt to live up to your team name, I wanted a true fight, so I could wipe out your threat once and for all."

"So you admit we're a threat?" Tony challenged, crossing his arms and lifting his chin.

Thanos shrugged. "I admit that you believe you are."

"And we have good reason to believe it." Natasha nodded to Stormbreaker. "Remember that sinking into your chest? That was quite the scream."

Thanos hesitated, barely a beat, quickly covered by a mask of anger and then indifference, but the fear was there. "Regardless, I have six Infinity Stones and an army. And you have… twenty, give or take?"

Tony laughed. "You really think we came here alone? Come on, Thanos – if you really knew me, you would know I'm not that stupid."

Thanos narrowed his eyes. Tony signaled to Thor.

He lifted Stormbreaker, lightning crackling around the axe, his eyes glowing dangerously.

The Bifrost crashed down to his right, on the edge of the group.

At first, only five people stepped out, all clad in armor. A man with golden eyes; a man with perfectly styled blond hair; a rotund fellow with an axe; a grim man with a lethal flail. And at their head, going to stand to the right of and slightly in front of Thor, was a woman in silver-and-blue armor, a sword in one hand and emerald magic twirling around the other – and based on the way she held herself, she could only be one person.

She lifted her chin, her eyes glinting like steel, her voice carrying across the field in a wave of authority. "My name is Frigga, Queen of Valhalla. You killed my son. Prepare to die."

Thanos set his jaw, lifting his fist into the air.

When the sun glinted off the glowing Stones, his army charged forward with a roar.

Thor sent a pulse of lightning up the Bifrost. Immediately, hoards of long-dead einherjar burst forth. Above them, pegasi streamed out, following a blonde riding the largest steed. One pegasus was riderless; it touched down just long enough for Valkyrie to mount in one fluid motion, and she took to the air, surging forward alongside her sisters.

Tony shared a glance with Rhodey. "For Peter and Pepper."

"For Peter and Pepper," Rhodey echoed.

Helmets snapping shut, they leapt into the air.

-MCU-

Loki leaned on Gamora, staring up. The forest was behind them, and all around, the land was flat and empty. Except, of course, for the place where the portal was. No, that was atop a tower of dirt, like someone had stolen a cylinder of land from a cliff face and dropped it there specifically to make it just that little bit harder to reach freedom.

Wanda came back from the other side, shaking her head. "The portal is definitely up there, and the only way up is to climb."

"Rock climbing," Loki muttered. "It had to be rock climbing."

"Can either of you levitate?" Gamora asked.

Neither of them even had to try – they just shook their heads. "The power blocking our magic is only getting stronger. I doubt either of us could even lift a stone."

"I am Groot?"

Gamora shook her head. "You can't grow that tall and stay stable, Groot. Even you will have to take this in steps."

"No, but he could give Mr. Loki a boost," Peter said, placing his hand against the wall. "I can climb this, and once he's close enough to the top, I can pull him up with my webs."

Loki balked at the idea of essentially being carried. "I can climb."

"Loki-" Wanda started.

"I've seen other Asgardians do it," Sif cut in. "He's strong enough."

Loki shot her a grateful glance. Until she went on. "But I want Peter right next to you, in case you slip. He's the only one who can catch you safely."

Part of him wanted to protest, but the compromise was enough of a miracle. Plus, the pointed stare she was giving him was enough to stop even Thanos in his tracks. "All right," he agreed reluctantly.

Reluctance written across her face, Gamora helped him to the wall. Finding a pair of secure handholds, he hauled himself up, jamming his uninjured foot into the first foothold he found. Pain shot through his broken leg as it bumped against the rocks, but he gritted his teeth and kept going. Sif was right beside him.

Once the others realized he wasn't going to cave to the first plan, they followed. Peter hovered, close enough that Loki had to resist the urge to snap at him, but at least he wasn't being too much of a chatterbox. And he was actually rather helpful in those few moments when the dirt crumbled beneath Loki's fingers.

In the distance, something roared.

Gamora stiffened, glancing across the misty orange landscape. "Another bilgesnipe?"

Sif shook her head. "Their roars don't sound like that."

"No," Peter murmured slowly. "That sounded like…"

A shadowy shape started to coalesce. It stalked forward on two legs, a pair of arms hanging in the air, tipped by wicked claws. A massive sail arched across its back, flushing bright red and vivid blue. Its long, thin jaws gaped in another roar, beady black eyes shining as it locked onto them.

"Spinosaurus," Peter breathed, half awed, half terrified.

"I am Groot?"

"Extinct Earth reptile that will eat us," Wanda said quickly, climbing faster. "Climb now!"

"Actually, they primarily ate fish-"

"I don't think the Infinity Stone cares. Climb!" Loki finally snapped.

The ground rumbled beneath its heavy footsteps, the dinosaur picking up speed as it neared them. Of course Midgard has massive reptiles that want to eat us inside an Infinity Stone. Loki tried to pick up speed, clenching his jaw against whimpers as his leg banged again and again against the rocks. Carita slipped from her hilt, trying to help, but all she could do was gently prod him. Which was not helpful.

Suddenly, from all around, came a cacophony of roars.

"I am Groot."

"Groot!" Gamora scolded. "Language!"

"Under the circumstances, I would give him a break," Loki said.

Gamora shot Loki a look, coming up on his right to tap Peter's foot to get him to move aside. "Peter, get to the top, we're using your web plan. Go."

He nodded, leaping forward to swarm up the cliff face. Loki pulled himself up, heart lurching as the loose dirt slipped beneath his fingers. Now flanking him, Gamora and Sif each clapped a hand over his wrists, holding him until he found new handholds. "Thank you," he gasped.

"We're not going anywhere," Sif promised.

Gamora looked at Wanda and Groot, who were hesitating a few yards above. "You two are. Go!"

They didn't move until Loki nodded, remembering at the last second not to wave them off. He pulled himself up another couple feet, glancing at the Spinosaurus. "We're too high up, aren't we?"

Below them, the first Spinosaurus roared, reaching the base of the cliff, its buddies not far behind. Stretching up, it sank its claws into the cliff.

And started to climb. Its clumsy attempts gouged out massive chunks of dirt, its wild movements shaking the cliff. As first a second, then a third, then more joined it, the destabliziation only worsened. Loki clung tighter to the wall, straining to go faster. Sif moved a little below him, reaching for her sword for when it got too near.

"Ok, that should not be possible," Peter called. He had reached the top, and was turning to look down at them.

"And what, exactly, about any of this, was already possible?" Loki grunted.

"That's fair."

"Webs!" Sif ordered.

Peter leaned over the edge, snapping his arm out. A white strand of webbing shot out. Loki leaned his head back, letting it hit his chest. Gamora gave the strand a sharp yank, and it held firm. Taking a breath, Loki let go of the cliff, grabbing the web instead. Peter nodded, and without further warning, Loki shot upwards.

Peter grabbed him just before he hurtled over the edge, steadying him as best he could. Loki hit the grass with a groan, grabbing his leg in a feeble attempt to dull the pain. And still, the portal glowed too high above him, a swirling circle of golden light just out of reach. Unless, of course, he could jump. "I hate everything."

"I have a solution to that, actually," Peter said, starting to slip his hands underneath of Loki. "And, um, sorry in advance, Mr. Loki."

"Wait, Spider, what are you planning- Spider-"

Peter picked Loki up. "This god empty," he said, pulling his arms back, preparing to throw him. "YEET!"

With a startled yelp, Loki flew into the portal.

A/N: I may have indulged too much on the Pietro content, but whatevs, I waited nearly 3.5 years to be able to do that