Who's heart will be broken? Read on to see.

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Broken - It must have been love by Roxette

Chapter Twenty-five: Broken heart(s)

The BiFrost Crest

The rainbow ground sparkled beneath his body as his eyes came into focus and he was able to regain composure and equilibrium.

Barton had no idea where he was.

"Lynn..." Clint gasped as he flipped over to his butt to look at the majestical beings that stood around him.

It was clear that he knew who Thor and Loki were, but he had not seen Jane Foster in such a long time that he did not recognize her at all in the extravagant purple and silver armor that covered her body. Flowers and stars sparkled in her hair.

The younger gent who looked like Loki stood there hugging Lynnea tightly; a hand smoothing down her hair.

"Welcome Hawkeye," Thor spoke out to him as he stood. "It is a pleasure to see that you are alive."

"No thanks to you all mighty one," he snapped as he examined where his feet were; realizing he could stand on the rainbow near translucent spectrum.

"I had my reasons for not returning to Midgard," the God of Thunder answered his retort. "I pray that you and your people will one day understand as you restore it to the way it should be."

"Yeah, good luck with that," he said while walking closer to them, finger on right hand pointing in frustration. "Over half of the human race was annihilated and nature has been slowly suffocating..."

"Clint," Linney tried to calm him. She had separated from the man and intercepted his charge before reaching Thor. He would have liked nothing better than to slap the God of Thunder and risk eternal damnation across his face.

"No Linney, I have already been struck blind and lost my son for years and you for even longer thanks to this guy," he continued in his tirade pointing at Thor. "I am not going to say that everything is going to be all wine and roses. It is going to take several generations to get our world back the way it once was."

"And we have no doubts that you will be able to complete that task," Thor replied. "Come Lynnea," he spoke out to his niece. "It is time."

"Time for what my king?" she asked as she looked upon him.

"What do you mean?" the younger man said puzzled. "Time for you to come home and return to the family."

Clint was confused as was the look on Lynnea's face.

"I do not understand. I committed high treason," she spoke. "I was banished." He put his hands at rest on her upper arms.

"You were," the Asgardian king spoke to her, "but thankfully you have a mother and father as well as your grandmother who love you very much and they were able to convince me into allowing you to return."

"You can come home my darling," Jane came and reached out to put her hands on her daughter's face. "We want you to come home."

"But..." Their eyes locked again.

He was speechless. The family began to gather so he took a few steps back.

Loki now stood next to his wife Jane Odinson and his wife as well. "You have been forgiven and you may reassume your station as the Guardian of Nature and Life. It will be as if nothing happened."

Lynnea wanted to speak, but she was finding the words were hard to come by.

"You are my sister," the young man, whom he learned was her brother, came and took her hands in his. "I love you so much and I could not bear to watch you die again as you did on Midgard. There is no life there and it will suffocate you as it did before. We cannot continue to restore you each and every time."

It killed him. Tore right through his heart and every other part of him. He did watch Lynnea die in his arms, and he finally admitted that he was not angry at her.

He just missed her.

But could he watch her die again? This time would be of old age, disease, or something more nefarious.

The light shined off the silver wristband that he now wore. It was his wedding band…and that meant he needed to speak before it was too late.

"Wait," he spoke out. "As her baby daddy, I think I should get some say in this too." He lifted his wrist to show off the band. He hoped it would give him the permission to speak.

"Very well Clinton," Thor spoke. "What advice to you have to offer?"

Clint approached and gently pulled Lynnea away from the crowd so they could talk. His hands came and took one cheek and the other combed through the section of hair near her eyes.

"Linney, this is your life," he said. "I'll admit it that I did not want you to come back. When you stopped me from jumping off the rooftop when Francis was born, you promised you would be there for me. For us...and if you knew what had been happening, I know you would have been there in a heartbeat.

"But they are right," he continued, a tear slipping down his face. "I cannot bear to watch you suffer and die because Earth cannot sustain you. I would rather you continue what you are doing; being the watchful guardian that I know you can be."

Linney's head dropped slightly, a tear streaking down her soot stained cheek and lips quivering.

Finally, her emerald eyes looked up to her husband. "Clint, our tale is one for the legends of Asgard. The mortal archer and guardian of nature who saved an entire realm." She turned and faced her family. "As you know, I am never one to bask in glory. I never was. That is what Lukas does for commendably."

Her brother nodded upward with a flick of his eyebrows.

"I know that I cannot have life be both ways," she said. "To be immortal and live amongst the mortals. Help them to restore their realm to be the way it once was. Let life return and flourish once again."

"You cannot have it both ways Lynnea," King Thor said. "You must choose: a life as a mortal on Midgard or return to the person you once were here in Asgard."

"Brother," Loki spoke out. "What greater mission could there be for Lynnea? Why not have someone there to protect the realm while helping to restore it? Bring it back so the human race can thrive once more."

"It would be a noble assignment for one so young as Lynnea," Jane spoke.

"But at what cost Jane," Thor interjected. "She not only could protect it, but also bring harm as dark forces that we have not yet foreseen could come to cause it harm again."

"Oh don't worry about that," Clint spoke up. "Tony Stark is out of the robot building business. And with regards to those "forces" you mentioned, Linney is not going to be alone. She is going to have me, Francis, and a whole new Avenger group that is going to need guidance and grow up to be Earth's Mightiest Heroes once again."

Thoughts and exchanges in looks passed for several moments.

"Princess Lynnea Rose Lokisdottir," Thor spoke her title to all present, "please, make your choice known. Take the hand of your mother to return to Asgard or take that of Hawkeye and choose a mortal existence."

Lynnea looked to Loki and Jane who stood there staring. Jane had her arms out before her to welcome her home.

But he stood there and put out a hand to her.

"Whichever way you choose," her father spoke, "someone is going to get hurt. But you have to do what is in your heart and what is right for you."

And so Lynnea reached out for the hand that sealed her fate.

Midgard

The temporal portal opened and smashed down upon the metal surface, shredding the metal fragments and transporting the beings from outer space.

Francis Barton stood there with Torunn and James Rogers with Tony Stark who were awaiting the return of his father or better yet, his mother and father.

The high sun caused the metal to glisten brightly to where he could not make out who had appeared from the portal.

It was only a blurry silhouette.

Only one had come back and from the shape, a bow and quiver was on the back.

"Figures," Francis spoke in anger. "I knew she wouldn't come back. Must be pretty nice living the high life of immortality and abundance while the rest of us suffer down here!" He was shouting at the sky. "Guess things will be back to the way they were."

"Uh kid," Tony Stark spoke, "you might need to get yourself a pair of glasses."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked.

And Stark motioned with his face for him to look again.

Slowly as the silhouette passed a glowing sunbeam, it split from one into two.

It was both of them, Clint Barton and his mother Princess Lynnea.

He took off at a brief jog that eventually broke into a full-blown sprint.

His parents looked at one another with a smile, but his mother stepped forward to grab and intercept him.

His mother's arms wrapped tightly around him and raked down his jacket.

Francis had not experienced this much joy...actually ever.

He kind of liked it.

His father joined in on the hug of a lifetime.

"You came back," he said beyond his blubbering tears.

"You can never destroy family," his mother spoke amongst her own. "There is no great love or power."

They parted so to look at one another.

"I cannot believe that they let you come back," Francis said. "I thought they were going to kill you. Destroy you. You told me..."

"And it was what I believed would happen to me," she told him. "However, you have a grandmother and grandfather who were able to help convince your great uncle to let me return here. And as a bonus," she said and took a hand high to the heavens.

A white cloud developed above the city and began to unleash a gentle rain.

It was the first real rain that ever graced his face. It was odd, yet refreshing.

"I got to keep my powers," she told him. "For the use of helping Midgard to return to life and be as it should be."

"So, this is permanent?" Tony Stark came from behind to meet up with them. "You're here to stay."

"For as long as you will have me," she said. "I hope that this is not confusing for you Torunn Thorsdottir."

"It is unusual," the fellow Asgardian said. "I mean you technically have not been born yet and yet you are my aunt."

"Don't sweat the details," Clint spoke. "Two Asgardian protectors are better than one."

"Most definitely," Francis said, nudging his mother who had her arm around him. "We need all the help that this world can get."

"What about the Asgardians?" Tony asked. "Any chance of repercussions or retributions from the almighty gods?"

"Nothing, nada, never," Clint told them. "They are going to leave us alone or until the next threat."

"Which will hopefully not be for a while, right?" Henry's squeaky voice chimed in.

"At least until we get this place well defended again," James Rogers said, "and we have a lot to do."

Finally it was over, Francis thought. It was finally going to be a good day.

Awe, such a sweet ending. Let's see what truly ends the story.