Now or never, let's travel through time and save the universe!
The next day, everyone geared up for the time heist. The specialized quantum suits were made to go over their regular clothes, which could then retract when not in use. The teams they had decided on were:
Steve, Tony, Scott, and Bruce would go back to 2012 and retrieve the Time, Space, and Mind stones after the past-Avengers captured Loki.
Rocket, Thor, and Shocket would go back to 2013 and get the Reality Stone by extracting it from Jane Foster.
Lylla, Natasha, Clint, Rhodey, and Nebula would go back to 2014, where Rhodey and Nebula would get the Power Stone while the others went to Vormir for the Soul Stone.
"We all look really badass in these suits," Shocket said.
Rocket nodded. "Your mom's got an eye for form and functionality, that's for sure. Good job, Ly."
Lylla smiled at her mate. "Thank you, Rocky. Is your backup plan ready just in case things don't go as you planned?"
Rocket patted his belt, which held Vanguard safely in a container. "Don't worry about it. Both Shocket and I are biologically compatible with this Klyntar, so if things go wrong, we have a practically indestructible bio-armor on standby."
"What about you, Mum?" Shocket asked. "Since you're going after the Soul Stone, did you find anything out about it."
"Unfortunately, no," Lylla shook her head. "The Soul Stone has the least amount of information about it. The most I found was from Cosmo looking into the Collector's notes, and even then, all we got was that the stone can bend a person's will, with the possibility of controlling life and death itself. I did get more information about this, though…" She pulled out a pink gem shard, the same one that had found in the far reaches of the galaxy in the ruins of a Shi'ar city. "This is possibly a shard of the M'kraan Crystal, a powerful Shi'ar artifact that was said to house a celestial being."
"The freaky bird-thing we saw in the larger gem, right?" Rocket said.
Lylla nodded. "Most of the records on this being have been lost to time, but it's supposedly been around since the birth of the universe, with the power of fire and life." She put the shard away. "The shard faintly resonates a cosmic energy, so this celestial being's power might still be inside this small fraction. Could be useful."
With everyone all suited up, the Avengers made their way onto the time platform. Steve stood and gave a speech. "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."
Steve put his fist in the middle, with everyone joining him, a gesture of their bond as a team united for a singular purpose: to save the world.
"One Round-trip each," he warned. "No mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. That 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." Steve looked to Tony. "Whatever it takes."
"Good luck," Tony said.
"He's pretty good at that," Rocket said.
"Right?" Scott agreed.
"You get used to it once you're around him enough," Lylla nodded.
"Alright, you heard the man, stroke those keys, Jolly Green," Tony called to Bruce, whom was at the controls.
Lylla looked down in her paws, where the Benatar rested, having been shrunk down by Pym Particles to travel with them. "Don't worry, Rocky, I'll make sure it comes back in one piece," she assured her mate.
"We'll do our best," Clint added.
"That was a pretty lame promise," Shocket said, crossing her arms with a knowing smirk.
As Bruce finished powering up the machine, Natasha looked at everyone. "See you in a minute," she said.
The machine fully powered up, everyone activating their helmets, and then shrinking down into the Quantum Realm and slipping back into time.
[***]
Asgard, 2013
Rocket, Thor, and Shocket snuck their way through Asgard, even passing by an imprisoned Loki at one point before coming to just outside Jane Foster's chambers. The human was being fitted for new clothes, keeping her distracted from the trio of time travelers outside her door.
"Oh, there's Jane," Thor said.
"Alright, here's the deal, chubby," Rocket said. "You're gonna charm her, and I'm gonna poke her with this thing and extract the Reality Stone and get gone lickety-split."
Shocket raised her hand. "What am I going to do?" she asked.
"You're on lookout duty," Rocket said. "I give you permission to stun- not kill- anyone that tries to come in."
Shocket grinned, pulling out her multi-launcher, setting it to stun rounds. Thor, on the other hand, let out a sharp gasp and held up a finger. "I'll be right back, okay? The wine cellar is just down there. My father used to have this huge barrel of Aakonian ale. I'll see if the scullery has a couple of to-go cups."
"Hey. Hey! Aren't you drunk enough already?" Rocket said.
Doors on the other side of the hall opened, and everyone hid as people walked through. One looked to royalty, with the others being her handmaidens. Thor looked at her like he'd seen a ghost.
"Who's the fancy broad?" Shocket asked.
"That's my mother," Thor said. "She dies today."
"Oh, that is today?" Rocket said.
"I cannot do this. I cannot do this," Thor said. "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have come. It's a bad idea."
"Come here," Rocket said.
"No, no, no. I think I'm having a panic attack," Thor said quickly.
Rocket rolled her eyes and slapped Thor right across the face. "You think you're the only one who lost people? What do you think we're doing here? I lost the family that, for he longest time, was all I knew: Quill, Groot, Drax, the chick with the antenna- all gone."
"I never even got to meet my entire family," Shocket added.
"I get that you miss your mom, but she's gone. Really gone," Rocket said. "And there are plenty of people who are only kind of gone, and you can help them. So, is it too much to ask that you brush the crumbs out of your beard, make schmoopy talk to Pretty Pants, and when she's not looking, suck out that Infinity Stone, and help me get my family back?"
Thor sighed. "Okay."
"Are you crying?" Shocket asked.
"No," Thor shook his head, only to stop. "Yes. I feel like I'm losing it."
"Oh, get it together!" Shocket groaned. "You can do this."
"You can do this," Rocket repeated, sincerity in his voice. "Alright?"
Thor took deep breaths. "Yes, I can."
"Good," Rocket said, jumping down from his perch. He and Shocket readied themselves to get the stone. "Alright, heartbreaker, she's alone. This is our shot." When he couldn't hear footsteps behind him, Rocket turned around to see the Asgardian had run off. "Thor? Thor!" He groaned. "Flark me."
"So, should we try plan where I distract her with my charm?" Shocket asked. Like her mother, she had a way of making others underestimate her due to the fact that she looked like a cute woodland creature.
"Fine, just make sure she's distracted," Rocket said.
In Jane Foster's chambers, Rocket and Shocket quietly snuck into the room, ready to enact their plan. Shocket scurried over to the balcony, then made a noise to get Jane's attention.
"Who's there?" the human asked.
Shocket then revealed herself, walking on all fours and acting like what she'd seen Earth raccoons do. "Come on, buy it," she muttered. Shocket crawled into the room and saw a bowl of fruits. She made her way over to it and sat down, then looked between it and Jane.
"You want food?" Jane asked.
Shocket tilted her head to the side, then grabbed an apple. She rubbed it in her paws, then held it out to Jane.
"Oh, no, I shouldn't eat that after you touched it," Jane said. She sighed. "I am having a conversation with a raccoon in a mythical Nordic realm, great…"
Rocket took the distraction to jab the device into Jane's leg, the human letting out a cry of pain as the Aether was ripped out of her. The device glowed red as it filled up, which once it was complete made Jane faint onto the nearby couch.
"Worked like a charm," Shocket said, taking a bite out of the apple.
"Yeah, but Pretty Pants here just made a lot of noise, so guards are probably on their way," Rocket said.
The two raccoons scurried out of the chambers and back into the halls, running for their lives as the shouts of guards and clanging of armor started to come from behind them. After making a few double-backs and misdirections, the two managed to get away from the guards for now and conveniently end up where Thor was.
"There you are," Shocket panted. She then noticed another Asgardian in the room with them. "You're Thor's mum, right?"
"We got the thing, Now come on, we've gotta move," Rocket said, holding up the contained Aether.
Thor turned to his mother, Frigga. "Oh I wish we had more time," he said.
"No this was a gift," Frigga said, holding her son's arms. "Now you go and be the man you're meant to be."
"I love you, Mom," Thor said.
"I love you," Frigga replied, hugging her son. "And eat a salad."
"Come on, we gotta go," Rocket said, already punching in the return sequence into his device. "Three, two…"
"No wait!" Thor shouted. He held out his hand, which made Shocket look at him funny.
"Is something supposed to happen?" she asked.
"Oh, sometimes it takes a second," Frigga said.
A humming sound came from the distance, and soon a hammer flew into Thor's grip, making the Asgardian laugh. "I'm still worthy," he said.
"Oh boy," Rocket rolled his eyes, then finished setting his device for the return trip.
"See you… well, I guess we won't see you, so, goodbye!" Shocket said to Frigga as they slipped back into the Quantum Realm.
[***]
Morag, 2014
Lylla lowered down the auxiliary ship to the planet's surface, there in case Nebula and Rhodey needed to get off-world for any reason.
"Take care, okay?" Natasha said, hugging Rhodey.
"Get that stone and come back. No messing around," Rhodey said. "You guys watch each other's six."
"We ready to go?" Lylla asked as Clint and Natasha sat down. The two humans nodded. "Alright, Nebula set up the coordinates, so it's off to Vormir."
The Benatar took off into space, Lylla making the sapcejump towards their destination. Clint and Natasha marveled at the lights that past by their ship, both of them smiling.
"We're a long way from Budapest," Clint said.
Natasha giggled in response, which made Lylla feel happy for the two. Both of them had been through many losses in their lives, but always had each other to rely upon as friends. It was like her and Rocket back on Half-World, where they would often go on missions together into the unknown and dangerous parts of the planet.
After about an hour of travel, they finally made it to Vormir, a desolate planet of shallow seas, storms, and cliffs.
"Wow," Clint breathed. "Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome."
"You could join the Guardians after all this is done," Lylla offered.
"I've got family on Earth to take of," Clint said.
Once they landed on the planet, the trio made their may to where the energy readings were, forcing them to climb a mountain that was too steep to land their ship on.
"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," Natasha said.
"Technically, he only looks like a Terran raccoon," Lylla corrected. "It just so happens that the animals on Half-World evolved in the same way your planet's species did."
"Oh whatever," Natasha rolled her eyes. "He eats garbage."
"Welcome," said a mysterious voice.
Everyone got ready for a fight, with Clint drawing his sword, Natasha her guns, and Lylla her staff. A figure shrouded in a cloak floated down towards them.
"Natasha, daughter of Ivan," it said. "Clint, son of Edith. Lylla, daughter of Bill."
The trio looked to each other, then cautiously advanced. "Who are you?" Lylla asked.
"Consider me a guide, to you," the figure answered, "And to all who seek the Soul Stone."
"Oh good," Natasha said sarcastically. "You tell us where it is, then we'll be on our way."
"If only it were that easy," the figure said, coming into the light and revealing that his face was that of a red skull.
The trio followed the Stonekeeper up the mountain, where they found a cliff face with many symbols marking it.
"What you seek lies in front of you," the Stonekeeper said. "As does what you fear."
Natasha looked over the edge to see an altar of some kind at the bottom. "The stone's down there," she said.
"For two of you," the Stonekeeper said. "For the other… In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul."
Lylla gasped, then backed away from the edge quickly. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, we're not doing this. There has to be another way."
"The Soul Stone will only appear when the sacrifice has been made," the Stonekeeper insisted.
"Well I'm going to figure this out. We've got time," Lylla said. She sighed and went over to a stone pillar, slumping down as she got lost in thought. Lylla reached into her pocket and pulled out the shard she carried, holding it close to her chest. "Think, Lylla, think. This is a puzzle of some kind, a test of what you're willing to sacrifice for power. A soul for a soul…"
The shard in her hands glowed slightly, the energy flowing over her body and relaxing her a bit. Lylla looked down at it with confusion. "Is there something I'm missing?" she asked. The crystal pulsed a bit. "Okay, so I'm not hearing things, the shard talks," Lylla muttered. "But what is it I'm missing? It makes sense, in a sick and twisted way, that you would have to give a soul to take the Soul Stone. That's like the law of equivalent exchange…" She paused. "Equivalent exchange… That's it!"
Natasha and Clint looked over at her, interrupting their own discussion. "What is it, Lylla?" Natasha asked.
"The answer to the riddle," Lylla said. She looked over to the Stonekeeper. "If two people were to sacrifice themselves, what would happen?"
The Stonekeeper looked puzzled. "No one has ever asked that question before. Why do you bring this up?"
"If you must give up a soul to take the Soul Stone, then theoretically, two people giving up their souls would mean they would only lose half each," Lylla explained.
"They would both still be dead," the Stonekeeper said.
Lylla shook her head. "That would mean that the stone would remain unclaimed. Someone has to survive to claim the Soul Stone. If worse comes to worst, then the next person to come to this planet would have it free for the taking."
Clint and Natasha looked at each other, then back to Lylla. "You think that could work?" Clint asked.
"I believe it will," Lylla affirmed. "I know the kind of people you two are. Either of you would have been ready to sacrifice their life for the others. This way, at least you don't have to make the choice of who survives." She gestured to herself. "Everyone I love isn't here, so would have been down to the two of you at the end of the day."
Natasha looked to Clint, with him doing the same. "Whatever it takes," Clint said.
"Whatever it takes," Natasha repeated.
The two walked over to the edge of the cliff, turning around to face Lylla and the Stonekeeper.
"It won't work," the Stonekeeper insisted.
"It will," Lylla argued.
"If I don't make it, tell my family I love them," Clint said.
"You'll get to tell them yourselves," Lylla said.
Natasha and Clint held hands, closed their eyes, and with a deep breath, both of them took the plunge off the cliff. There was a sickening THUD, and Lylla forced herself to look over the edge to see the dead bodies of her friends at the bottom.
"I warned you," the Stonekeeper said. "This plan was in vain."
Lylla just stood there, then gasped as the bodies faded into orange energy and flew upwards. The light enveloped Lylla, forcing her into unconsciousness. When she awoke, Lylla was lying in the shallow waters, far away from the mountain. She looked down to see the Soul Stone her paw, which she held tightly as she started to cry.
The sound of splashing caught her attention, making Lylla look up to see Clint and Natasha lying in the water, dazed and confused as she was.
"Ow…" Clint said in pain. "My back feels like it got punched by the Hulk."
"I figured Hell would be more fire and brimstone than this," Natasha said, pushing herself to her knees.
Lylla's tears became that of joy as she ran over and gave Natasha a big hug. "It worked!" she cried. "It worked!"
"Huh, it did," Clint said, looking over himself.
"Do you feel okay?" Lylla asked. "I mean, you did just die and come back to life."
"I feel a bit empty on the inside, but other that the same as usual," Natasha said, Clint nodding in agreement.
Lylla held out the Soul Stone for them to see. "Both of you sacrificed half of your souls, so that's probably normal."
"I can feel part of myself in there," Clint said, reaching out towards the Soul Stone.
Natasha slapped his arm down. "Don't touch it. We have the stone, so we can leave," she said calmly.
"Right," Lylla nodded. "I'll go shrink the Benatar back down, and we can go home."
Author's Note
Wow, that was a long one! I could have split up Rocket and Lylla's missions, but considering how long upcoming parts might be, I decided against that.
Natasha is alive in this timeline! The way they got the Soul Stone was something that came to me after seeing Endgame for the first time. In the comics the Soul Stone has its own pocket dimension called Soulworld, where the souls its taken are kept. Gamora once came back from Soulworld but had part of her soul stuck within the stone, so I used that idea to create a loophole for how both Clint and Natasha can survive. I hope it doesn't come off like a Deus Ex Machina, but considering that I've been pulling from the comics since the beginning of this story, let's just say that the Infinity Stones work differently in this universe than in the main MCU timeline.
As for Rocket's mission, not much changed, but it was fun having Shocket distract Jane with a 'dumb animal' routine. It lets her show a bit more of her mother's side.
It's should be pretty obvious at this point what being is in the crystal shard that Lylla has. If you haven't figured it out, well… Let's just say that there was another superhero movie in 2019 that dealt with it…
Next Time: The Stones are collected, but now to bring half the universe back!