I'm baaaaaack!
So why is this chapter called "the Battle of Yorktown"? Because in the truest way possible, it has the same energy as the song. Very do-or-die, life-and-death, gotta-finish-this-thing. We're in the Endgame now, and some pieces may need to be sacrificed...for the time being.
So, let's check in with our Time Heist. *cracks knuckles*
Chapter Eight: The Battle of Yorktown
If someone had asked Loki Odinson where he would be at the end of the world, he likely would have answered, "on a throne."
He certainly would not have answered "sneaking around nine years in the past with a talking Space Raccoon, looking for the Aether".
Yet, here there were.
Their biggest hurdle was avoiding detection. At this point in time, he and Thor had been readying to defeat Malekeith. It would not do to run into his past self. So Loki had naturally taken a few precautions before they transported to Past Asgard with the Pym Particles.
Step one was changing his own form to look like a non-descript Asgardian.
Rocket had utterly vetoed any changing of his actual body, so Loki had compromised, and simply placed an invisibility spell on him.
(That had caused a ruckus, especially among the children. He owed Barton's son a demonstration 'if he got back alive'. Which, he had assured the boy, he would.)
For now, he and Rocket were crouched behind a pillar, trying to figure out a good way of sneaking into Jane's room.
"If this ends well, I am locking her and Thor in a room together until they make up." Loki muttered.
"Charming, forced romance." Rocket drawled. "So I just have to stick her with this thing?"
"Yes, and then run. And then we disappear and go back."
"Sounds easy enough." Rocket stretched, a movement that only Loki himself could see. "Which one's hers?"
Loki nodded towards a door. "That one. Can you handle this, or shall I?"
"I'm the invisible one, pal. How's Pretty Lady gonna take it when some random guy tries to stick an extractor in her?"
"...fair point. I'll wait here."
Rocket gamely snuck off to the door. Loki remained crouched behind the pillar.
Really, this was all going comically easy.
I hope the others get the remaining Stones so quickly. The sooner we all return, the sooner we can get back everyone. The sooner I can keep my promise to Thor…
He squeezed his eyes shut.
I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again.
"Loki, does a meeting with Dark Elves require you to shift form?"
Loki froze. And slowly turned to face the last person he had expected to run into on Asgard.
Odin stood behind him, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
"I-I assure you, Your Majesty, I am not Prince Loki." he lied smoothly, feeling his heart start to race.
But Odin had never been a fool. He snorted.
"Do you think I don't know how my own son stands?"
Loki sighed and reluctantly shifted to his own form.
Odin frowned, studying his face. "Loki, what magic is this? You are aged. You are...not as you were."
Loki gave a bitter laugh. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, Father. One too long for this time. But it's best if you just let me go on my way."
Then I don't have to think about the fact that you're gone forever.
"Loki, my son, what is this? You speak in riddles." Odin leaned forward, gripping Loki's face in his hands and peering hard into his eyes. "...something has gone very wrong."
"Yes, well...you could certainly say that." Loki paused. "How do you know?"
Odin snorted again. "Your mother may be the one with magic abilities, but I did not give up my eye for aesthetics, boy. You are not my Loki. You come from another time. Something desperate has sent you here."
"Thor is gone." Loki blurted. "He's gone and...I'm trying to get him back. And you.-"
Odin cut him off. "That is not for me to know. Whatever has happened, it was my destiny. But Thor...he has years yet ahead of him. I sense it."
Loki's heart leapt. "Truly? Can you see it?"
"I sense things only. But I do not sense defeat. Ragnarok will come, but perhaps not the end as we thought, but a new beginning."
Loki took a deep breath. "I see. I...thank you."
"Life has not been kind to you, has it, my son? I can see it in your eyes."
Loki shrugged. "I have lived. Is that not enough? I sometimes think I was not meant to live."
Odin softened. "Perhaps you were not, in the literal sense. But in every other way, you were destined to live. Sometimes I think...well, perhaps the fancies of an old man. But I do wonder if I was not wrong, to tell you that you would be a king. Thor does not quite seem to be interested in ruling. And you...you have always showed aptitude."
Loki felt sucker punched in the gut. "Father, please...Thor will rule. It is his birthright. I learned my lesson, believe me…"
"Traditions sometimes change, based on circumstances." Odin straightened himself. "I sense our time is at an end. It was good to see you, my son. I wish you luck."
Loki breathed out, trying to collect himself. He knew this would be the last thing he would say to his father. Now was his chance to make up for their shoddy parting the first time.
"Father...I am sorry. Truly. I...perhaps could have been better."
Odin laughed. "I could have as well. But you have become a man. I love you, my son. I may not always have been proud of you, but I am now. And you have always been my son. I only wish I had been a consistently better father. When your time comes, you will be welcome in Valhalla."
He gripped Loki's shoulder, just as he was aware of Rocket streaking out of Jane's room.
"Thank you." he whispered. "I must go."
He caught Rocket by one furry limb, and dragged him to a back corner.
"You have it?" he questioned.
"Yeah, but those guards will find us in about five seconds, so we'd better scram!"
"Fine, fine!"
And with one last, shuddering breath, they teleported forward.
Clint and Bucky had seen the Sanctum Sanctorum exactly once before in their lives: the last day before the world went completely to hell.
It had seemed imposing then. And it was still imposing now.
It was 2012. Clint was supposed to be across town, fighting Chitauri. Bucky was supposed to be in Cryofreeze.
"Okay, so what, are we supposed to knock on the door?" Bucky asked, peering up at the huge eye-like window on the building's front.
"Way ahead of ya, pal." Clint mumbled, easing over to the door and testing the lock. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal device.
"You brought a lockpick?"
Clint shrugged. "You never know when ya need one."
Shockingly, it worked. Though Bucky couldn't shake the feeling that it only worked because someone wanted it to.
The door creaked open ominously as they entered, finding themselves in a spacious, wooden hallway.
"Strange had the Stone on him, right?" Clint said. "So where do you suppose it is? Is he here?"
"Welcome, Clint Barton and James Barnes."
Both men whipped up their heads to see a dignified-looking woman in long robes and a shaved head.
"If you're here to rob the Sanctum, I can assure you, there's nothing here that's worth the risk of taking. You would end up in a very sorry state if you tried."
Bucky and Clint shared a look of 'what the hell is happening'.
"We're, uh, lookin' for Doctor Strange." Clint said, trying to stop himself from subconsciously tracking escape paths.
The woman cocked her head. "You're about five years too early. Stephen Strange is currently performing surgery about twenty blocks that way." She pointed vaguely out the nearest small window. "What do you need from him?"
"That, actually." Bucky said, pointing to the Time Stone, hung in its protective casing around the woman's neck.
"Ah!" The woman smiled. "I'm afraid not."
Clint sighed, and fingered his arrows. "Look, ma'am, with all the respect I'm sure you're due, we need that thing."
"You don't want to try that."
"You're right. But we need it."
As Clint spoke, Bucky had quietly removed himself from the woman's line of sight and melted into the background. He was going to get that damn Stone if it was the last thing he did."
He was not prepared to feel a warm, solid hand press against his chest, and a sensation of being thrust out.
Looking down, he saw his body lying prone on the ground. He was floating in the air, his form now ephemeral as a shadow.
Clint moved back sharply. "What the hell?"
"What did you do?" Bucky yelped. "Put me back! We told ya, we need the Stone. We'll return it, I swear!"
The woman dusted her hands together, looking highly unimpressed by their pleading.
"I warned you not to try anything. Let's start over, shall we?"
There was something eerie and mildly terrifying about staring at your past self.
Hiding behind a steel beam in the old Stark Tower, Tony could see them all crowded around Loki, real and flesh and alive.
Oh, god, we were so naive. So young. We thought we could do anything…
Natasha placed her hand on Tony's arm. "Started at the bottom… now we're here. Look at us."
Tony gave her a bittersweet look. "We'll get them back."
"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Loki intoned across the room.
Tony could hear his past self saying that a SHIELD task force would be there any minute to collect the Staff, and griping at everyone to clean up.
He smirked as Past Steve turned his rear toward them. "Ohh, Cap, that suit did nothing for your ass."
"I think it looks great!" Scott enthused, from his shrunken self's position on Tony's shoulder. "After all, that's America's Ass!"
Natasha took a deep breath to hold back the laugh that bubbled in her throat. "I'll be sure to tell him you said that, Scott. As soon as we finish this mission. I'll head down a floor, where the Strike force is going to be in a minute. You two get the Tesseract."
Tony gave her a two-finger salute as the spy gracefully climbed up the steel beam and into a waiting vent.
Even tiny, Scott looked impressed. "Uh, how does she know which vent goes where?"
"She and Barton had a field day using the vents to get around when we all lived here. There was more than one Nerf War." Tony shook his head, as the elevator pinged open, and none other than Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell-along with various SHIELD personnel-appeared on the floor and started to pack away the Mind Stone Staff.
"Who are these guys?" Scott asked.
"They are SHIELD. Well, actually HYDRA, but we didn't know that yet."
"Really? You didn't know? They look like bad guys!"
"You're small, but you're talking loud." Tony muttered back, in a deadly calm voice.
The STRIKE team got into the elevator.
"Nat, head's up." Tony whispered into the com. "Incoming."
"I'm on the eightieth floor." Natasha replied. "Exactly one down. Are they in the elevator?"
"Yup, headed down."
"I got the button. You and Lang worry about the other Stone."
"Copy that."
One floor down, Natasha enjoyed the stunned look on Sitwell's face when her face greeted them.
"A-agent Romanoff." he stuttered.
"Director Sitwell." she returned cooly, stepping into the elevator.
Outside, she wore a pleasantly neutral mask. Inside, she was seething with repressed loathing. And with the burning need to settle a score-for more than just her.
"I just got word from the Secretary that I'm going to be running point on the Scepter." she said. "Well...me, and Captain Rogers."
Sitwell's eyes bulged.
"I, ah...don't understand."
"There's been word about a possible attempt to steal it."
Natasha didn't quite reach for the briefcase. But she edged closer possessively all the same.
"Ah, sorry, Agent, but not today." Rumlow said, grabbing the handle.
"Yeah, we can't just let you…" Sitwell started.
Natasha gave a feral grin.
This is for you, Steve. You'd be proud. And Bucky; and Christy.
"It's alright." she paused a moment, before adding, in Sitwell's ear, "Hail HYDRA."
Sitwell froze, a stunned look on his face. "I don't…"
"Believe it." Natasha said coolly.
"Does the Captain know?"
Natasha smiled, as the elevator dinged and opened. "Naturally. And he shares our sentiments."
She exited calmly, leaving a group of very confused men in her wake.
Once she was far enough away, she allowed herself the luxury of a smirk.
Sorry, Steve. But I don't think you'd mind.
"No, no, I can't possibly let you do it. By helping your reality, I'd be dooming my own."
The Ancient One strode boldly onto the roof of the Sanctum Sanctorum, with Clint and Bucky panting behind her like two wary, exhausted puppies.
"W-with all due, respect…" Bucky choked out. "The science doesn't support that."
The Ancient One drew back her arm, creating a flaming line of orange light through the middle of the air. Tiny projections of the six Stones circled around it.
"The Infinity stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits."
She knocked one of the "Stones" away, creating a branching black line as a literal offshoot of time.
"Now, this may benefit your reality but my new one? Not so much. In this new branched reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. Can your science prevent all that?"
Bucky swallowed, trying to remember everything that Shuri had been babbling about during the construction of the Not-A-Time-Machine.
"No...but we can erase it. Because once we are done with the stones, we can return each one to it's own time line at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically, in that reality, they never left."
He carefully touched the projection of the Time Stone and moved it back into place.
"Ah, but you're leaving out the most important part. In order to return the stones, you have to survive."
"We will-I will. I promise." Bucky leaned forward earnestly. "My friend has been dead for three years because of this nonsense. I ain't dying before I get him back"
The Ancient One did not look unsympathetic, but she shook her head all the same. "I can't risk this reality on a promise. It is the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the time stone."
"Then why the hell did Strange give it away?" Clint asked.
The Ancient One paused, complicated emotions flitting across her face. "What did you say?"
"Strange, he gave it away. He gave it to Thanos."
"Willingly?"
"Apparently! He said something about '14 million potential futures and the only one where we won was if he gave up the Stone'! But maybe he made a mistake."
The Ancient One shook her head, peering deep into first Clint's eyes, then Bucky's...form's eyes. "Or, I did."
With a flick of her wrist, she called Bucky's body back to him. Bucky grunted as he felt his shadow self and physical self mold back together.
Put that one on the list of things I never want to do again.
"Strange was meant to be the best of us." The Ancient One continued sadly.
"So he must have done it for a reason." Bucky affirmed. "He must have seen something in that one future. Something we couldn't have predicted."
"I fear you might be right."
"So...we can have the Stone?" Clint asked.
In answer, the Ancient One drew her hands across her chest, opening the metal holder of the Time Stone. The green gem hung in the air between her fingers, as she lowered it in front of Bucky.
"The world is counting on you both. I am counting on you both."
Bucky nodded solemnly. "We'll bring it back. We're too damn stubborn to fail twice."
That earned him a smile from lips aged by centuries.
"I do believe that you are right about that."
Pietro did not like Space.
So far, in their fifteen minutes on Morag, he had seen nothing but dark earth, dark sky, and demonic-looking lizards.
Sam was helping Drax and Nebula land. Wanda stood next to him, squeezing his hand.
He leaned against her tenderly.
"You are okay?" he sent through their mind link.
"Yes, fine. Just nervous. I know they put the coordinates in the plane, for here and for our time, but what if something goes wrong?"
"Don't think about that. Let's just see what happens. There isn't much we can't handle. And nothing you can't."
"Brate…"
"You two ready?" Sam questioned, as Nebula and Drax stepped out of the Milano.
Pietro grinned with a smile he didn't quite feel. "Always. Come, come; we are wasting time!"
Sam rolled his eyes.
"The coordinates to Vormir are prepared." Nebula intoned. She paused, and added. "Be careful. I do not know what is in that place of death, but it cannot be anything good."
Wanda nodded. "We will be careful."
Sam gave her a hug. "Get that Stone, and come back. No messin' around."
Wanda smiled. "I promise."
Pietro's face was more solemn now as Sam gripped his shoulder.
"Watch each other's backs." Sam ordered gently.
"Always." Pietro promised.
"Good. We'll be waitin' for you two on the other side. Good luck."
With a cocky salute, Pietro entered the jet, Wanda close beside him. In a few moments, the jet took off into the dark sky.
Sam breathed out. "Alright. So what, we just wait around for this Quill guy to show up, and then he leads us to the Power Stone, is that it?"
Drax nodded, and looked at Nebula for confirmation.
"Let's take cover." Nebula said, her low voice even lower than usual. "We're not the only ones in 2014 looking for the Power Stone."
Sam's eyebrows went into his hairline. "W-wait a minute, who else is looking for these Stones?"
"My father. My sister. And...me."
Sam felt his heart drop into his stomach.
"You? Where are you...with Thanos?"
Nebula nodded.
"Yeah...let's take cover."
Thankfully, they didn't have to take cover for long. Within half an hour, there suddenly came the last sound Sam expected to assault his ears on an alien planet in space:
"Come and get your loooooove! Come and get your love!"
Peter Quill spun into their field of vision in the middle of his own private dance party.
"Well." Drax murmured. "His music tastes were still the same."
"So...he's an idiot?" Sam clarified.
Nebula thought for a moment. "Yes."
"Got it."
Sam streaked out in his armor, knocking Quill to the ground in five seconds.
Nebula picked up his bag and rifled through it, retrieving a metal device with a pointed end, like a screwdriver.
"What is that?" Drax asked.
Nebula smirked. "The tool of a thief."
She approached the door of the cave-like rock and inserted the pointed end into a small dip in the wall. With a soft whirr, the door opened, revealing a purple, glowing stone sitting on a pedestal.
Drax started to walk forward immediately. Sam grabbed him back.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-this is the part where skeletons fall on you and spikes come out of the walls!"
Drax looked utterly baffled. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't someone show you two Indiana Jones? If you break into a place called the Temple of the Power Stone, there's gonna be a bunch of booby traps-"
Nebula strode forward, ignoring the conversation. Nothing happened.
"...alright, then, I guess not." Sam muttered.
Dang it, Spielberg, you liar.
Nebula approached the podium, cocking her head at the protective barrier. She gingerly reached her hand through it. Her metal limb instantly caught fire, but she grabbed the ball that surrounded the Power Stone anyway.
She pulled her arm out of the fire. Dropping the ball into Sam's waiting hand, she blew on her fingers gingerly.
"It is lucky that you are not flesh." Drax said, trying to lighten the mood.
Nebula gave a wan smile. "I wasn't always like this…"
Sam shrugged. "We work with what we got, yeah? Let's sinc up."
They each pressed the button that let their suits cover them.
"Three-two-one!"
Sam and Drax faded away. Nebula crumpled to the ground, just as her finger was about to press down. Blinding pain split through her skull.
"No…" she whispered.
Thanos had found her.
Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose.
"So, Loki got away with the Tesseract?"
Tony huffed and crossed his arms. "Well if Hulk hadn't come busting through the elevator, we would have gotten away with it!"
"We only have so many Pym particles!" Scot cried, serious for once. "We didn't have the chance for do-overs! Six Stones or nothing! We shot our shot, and now it's shot! We shot the shot! We shot-"
Tony looked ready to leap on Scott, so Natasha changed the subject. "We don't have any extra particles?"
"No, we don't have any extra particles!" Scott exclaimed. "We have one particle each, no more! No one else has any more! We can't just go find the Tesseract again…"
Tony, eyes closed and head in his hands, suddenly shot up. "I know where they both are. We can get the Stone, and get more Pym particles"
Natasha jumped. "You do? Where?"
"Military installation in the Garden State."
"Camp Lehigh?" Natasha wrinkled her nose. "Were they both there at the same time, ever?"
"I have a...vague idea that they were."
"Tony, please don't risk lives on a vague idea."
"I'm not! Nat, I know they were both there, and I know when. But Scott and I will have to go. It'll cause less ruckus having two regular guys around than a guy and a lady."
Natasha nodded, short and sharp. "Alright. Tony, I'm trusting you. Please, I'm trusting you...be right."
Tony nodded, eyes wide and serious. "I always fix my accidents. We're going to do this."
"Okay." she swallowed. "I guess I'm going back then. Good luck."
Her suit materialized over her, and with a press of a button, she was gone.
Scott looked over. "Okay. New Jersey?"
"Yeah." Tony gave a thin smile. "Ready to see the good Dr. Pym in the days of drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll?"
"What?!"
Tony wasn't completely sure where Scott had gotten a dress suit, but he wasn't about to ask questions. The two of them were currently strolling around Camp Lehigh, looking for a place that seemed a likely hiding spot for the Tesseract.
"Okay, imagine you're SHIELD, running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization." he muttered. "Where would you hide it?"
Scott scanned the yard, trying to think with the instincts of a thief.
"...right in plain sight." he said, nodding at a non-descript, shed-like stone building. A man in a suit was going into it, furtively glancing to the right.
Tony nodded. "Perfect."
They entered the building and went into the elevator. By silent agreement, they decided that the Tesseract would likely be on the bottom floor. An official-looking woman with a clipboard gave them suspicious side-eye, but left them alone.
Tony got off at the bottom. "Good luck with your mission, Captain Lang."
Scott barely managed to avoid stuttering. "G-good luck with your...project, sir."
Now he was alone with the woman, who was giving even more suspicious side-eye.
"You new here?"
Scott smiled in a way he hoped wasn't nervous. "Uh, yeah…"
"Welcome to Camp Lehigh."
With Tony getting the Stone, Scott's mission was to get more Pym Particles. He had located the Dr. Pym's office, and the directory of which number went to which office.
Now it was time to do what he did best: confuse people.
He still wasn't prepared for the shock Dr. Pym's voice gave him.
"Hello?"
"H-hi! Um, Dr. Pym?"
"That would be the number you called, yes?"
"Yeah, uh, this is Captain Lang from shipping...we have a package for you."
"Oh. Bring it up."
"Yeah, see, that's the thing, sir...we can't do that."
A pause.
"I'm confused. I thought that was your job."
"Well, sir...the box is glowing and to be honest, some of our mail guys aren't feeling so good."
"They didn't open it, did they?"
Scott bit his lip to hold back his snicker. "Uh y-yeah, they did. You'd better get down here."
There was a click and a dial tone, indicating that the good doctor was doing exactly that. Scott smirked, and peeked out from the phone booth just in time to behold his mentor bolting down the hall with long, dark hair.
Shaking his head in shock, Scott ducked into the man's office.
There was no mistaking the red, glowing Pym particles. He grabbed a handful, an eager smile on his face.
Now to find Stark.
Tony had known in his head that this was when his father had been with SHIELD. But somehow, he had never expected to run into him while in the past.
Currently, he was just trying not to let all of his feelings burst out of him at the same time.
"So, uh...flowers and sauerkraut. You got a date tonight?"
Howard grinned and laughed sheepishly. "Uh, my wife's expecting. And...too much time at the office."
Tony blinked.
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"How far along is she?"
Howard looked down at his watch. "Uh, I don't know. She's at the point where she can't stand the sound of my chewing. I guess I'll be eating dinner in the pantry again."
Tony grinned. He vaguely recalled his mom mentioning something about that.
"I've got a little girl."
The words were out before he could even think them through.
I've got a kid, Pops. A beautiful kid. Your granddaughter. You'd love her.
"A girl would be nice. Less a chance that she'd turn out exactly like me."
Tony frowned. "What would be so terrible about that?"
Howard looked wry. "Let's just say that the greater good has rarely outweighed my own self interest."
They exited the building. Tony caught sight of Scott across the way by a jeep. The man gave him a thumbs up, and Tony felt a wave of relief course through him as he returned the gesture on the sly.
It was over. They were going back. Mission accomplished.
"Let me ask you something." Howard said. "How did you feel when that kid of yours was born? Did you feel like you'd successfully be able to operate it?"
Tony snorted. "I...literally pieced it together as I went along. And somehow she's turned out alright."
"My old man, he never met a problem he couldn't solve with a belt."
Tony contemplated his father for a moment, feeling an odd pang of sympathy.
He didn't know what he was doing, either. Neither of us did. And I've had people around me to help, and Pepper...Dad didn't have any of that. And things were so different back then…
"You know, I thought my dad was tough on me, but looking back, I think I realize he just wanted me to be better than he was. To be safe and successful and happy. Maybe he didn't always do the best job of it, but he wasn't malicious. He was just doing things the best he could. He did drop the odd pearl."
"Oh?"
Tony smiled. "No amount of money ever bought a second of time."
And you were right. I forgive you, Dad. You did your best. And I didn't turn out too badly...with a little help.
"Smart guy." Howard said.
"He did his best." Tony repeated.
"I tell you, that kid's not even here yet, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him."
Tony felt a lump settle in his throat.
He really did care.
A shard of icy fear that he hadn't even known was there broke off and melted.
His dad had loved him. It had been a flawed love, but that didn't make it any less real.
Tony felt a peace settle deep in his soul. His aching, midnight grief finally had an answer.
"Good to meet you, Potts." Howard extended his hand.
Tony moved to just shake it, but he couldn't stop himself from embracing the man.
"Thank you for everything that you've done-f-for our country."
He backed off before Howard could get suspicious. But as he moved towards Scott, he couldn't resist saying:
"It's going to be okay, Howard. Your kid's gonna turn out just fine."
Vormir was slightly less ugly than Morag.
Slightly.
Pietro panted, hands on his knees in the lightly falling snow.
"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain!"
Wanda snorted. "Technically, he's not a raccoon."
"He eats garbage! That's similar enough."
A booming voice suddenly cut through their revelry.
"Welcome! Wanda, daughter of Danil. Pietro, son of Katarina."
Both siblings jumped at hearing their parents' names. They jumped again at the figure that said them.
He was tall, dressed in a ghostly hooded cloak, with a noseless face.\
"Who are you?" Wanda asked, red sparks twisting in her hands.
"Consider me...a guide. To you, and all who would seek the Soul Stone."
"Oh, good!" Pietro crowed sarcastically. "That's what we're here for! Tell us where it is."
The man seemed to smile almost sadly. "Oh, mein junge, if only it was so easy."
He led them to the top of the mountain, where two great, stone pillars plunged skyward.
"What you seek lies in front of you. And...what you fear."
Wanda peered over the edge gingerly. "The Stone is down there."
"For one of you. For the other...to take the Stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul."
Wanda felt her heart lurch in her chest. Pietro, ever practical, narrowed his eyes.
"A soul for a soul. You said we must give what we love. Why a person?"
"It is as I said. A soul for a soul."
"And what if the Stone comes back? Will the soul come back, too? What about that exchange?"
The figure narrowed his eyes. "No one has ever brought back the Soul Stone. It is forged in sacrifice. I do not know if a soul can be reclaimed."
The siblings locked eyes.
"Maybe...maybe he is making this all up."
Wanda shook her head. "You heard Nebula. Thanos came here with Gamora, and then left, without her. He must have...that is how she died."
Pietro breathed out slowly.
"If we don't get the Stone, billions of people stay dead."
"I know."
They were silent a moment, hands squeezing each other for all they were worth.
"Whatever it takes." Pietro whispered.
He thought of Laura's hugs, Cooper's steady spirit, Lila's energy. He thought of Steve's...everything, Bruce's calm, Thor's joy, and T'Challa's wisdom.
He thought of everything that the world had suffered for three years.
Greater love hath no man than this…
Sam always quoted that. His mother had quoted it, too, in Sokovian.
Pietro knew what he had to do.
He cupped Wanda's face in his hands. "I love you, sestrica."
Wanda's face exploded in fear. "No. No, no, no, don't do this to me, brate! I lost you once, I can't lose you again! No, you can't!"
"You have Bucky. He'll take care of you, sestra. He loves you. Me, I'll be okay. Maybe this is why I lived. To save the world, yeah?"
His eyes were proud and stormy. Wanda's were full of tears.
"I won't let you! I will go! Bucky will understand…"
"Ne! He has suffered enough! You both deserve peace! As for me...I'll hug Mama and Tata extra hard. Make sure you do the same for Nate and Christy, yeah?"
Wanda grabbed at him. "Brate!"
"Wanda...let me go."
An anguished sob poured from Wanda's throat. Pietro pressed one last kiss to her cheek, and held her tight with one last hug.
"Sestra...I'm going to save the world. Maybe you can get me back. But you know what Sam says. I won't really be gone. None of us really are. I should have died. But I didn't. Every day was a gift. Tell Clint and Laura thank you. Hug the kids for me. And I-I-I'll tell Mama and Tata that you're doing just fine."
They walked to the edge, Wanda still clinging to him.
"Little sister, I love you."
Face a mess, Wanda cupped Pietro's chin. "Little brother, you know I am older. I...I love you."
Pietro took a deep breath. With one last, cheeky grin, he saluted the world.
"Live well!" he cried, switching to Sokovian. "Take this, you wrinkled bastard! We're going to take back our world!"
Wanda couldn't bear to look away. She saw her brother plummet down, a crazy laugh coming from his lips.
She heard the crunch as he hit the rock below.
And she felt a warm, bright Stone materialize in her hands.
She turned on the ghostly figure. "And what if I bring this damned thing back? Will you give me back my brother?!"
"I cannot say." said the figure.
Wanda breathed out, shaking with sobs. "I hate you! I hate you all!"
In a rage of powers, she flew toward the ship and pressed the button on her suit.
Brate! Oh, brate...I won't let this be in vain!
LOOK ME IN THE EYE. ALL DEATHS ARE NEGOTIABLE. We still have at least four chapters left on this thing, and I have MANY plans for the Return of the Stones sequence.
Tune in next time for: the Return of the Snapped Ones, a Battle of Epic proportions, and many, many tears and screams.