Hello everyone! Here is the last chapter!

Thanks to Kaltie, Ranker, T-Rex-1000, The chakra alchimist, and simba71999 for favoriting this story. Thanks to CarlosCSF, DovahStark, T-Rex-1000, The chakra alchimist, and comedyfreak94 for following.

Disclaimer: I do not own Carrie White, Rachel Lang, the Avengers (MCU), Loki (MCU) or any other MCU character.

Chapter 6

It was a relief to see them. The entire team looked haggard and wrung out – except for Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff, but they probably had a lot of practice in hiding fatigue.

Tony sat at the end of her bed, Bruce on the chair, everyone else stood to the other side of her bed. There was a moment of silence as they all took each other in. Carrie decided to break the ice.

"How is everyone?" Carrie asked softly, thinking of the news Hank had apologetically brought her just two hours ago. Phil was dead, and so many others. She couldn't help but think back to all the faces she'd grown accustomed to seeing over the last month and wonder how many of them she would never see again.

"Been better." Tony admitted. "Reindeer Games hasn't popped up yet so we're in the middle of getting our shit together and trying to find him. You?"

"I couldn't get out of this bed if I wanted to." Carrie admitted. Her body was so sore and weak. She could make it to the bathroom on her own, but the activity left her exhausted. Jean, and a younger girl around her age called Kitty had taken to helping her when she needed to bathe. It was embarrassing but Carrie couldn't deny the necessity and her energy levels went up and down. "So many things tire me out."

"Getting dragged to a deserted island with only Loki for company after being resuscitated will do that." Bruce sighed. "You're going to be in that bed for a while."

"I've been told that a lot." Carrie agreed ruefully.

"Lady Carrie, my brother did you no further harm on that island, did he?" Thor asked, looking concerned.

"No." She reassured. "JARVIS made sure all his restraints were good and he actually started helping out with food after the first few days. I think he was pretty upset about his clothes though."

The teen could recall the God of Mischief's subdued dismay as his emerald and gold robes were smeared with dirt, torn at, and became stiff from saltwater. Loki definitely came across as a guy who was proud of his looks and considered clothing oneself an art that needed to be perfected. His once crisp and elegant robes being slowly whittled away at must have gnaw at him badly.

Thor smiled wryly. "Ah yes. He has always been vain. I am surprised he offered you assistance, however. Did he try to trick you?"

"No. I never took the gag off except to feed him. I think he just got bored."

"Feed him?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "I mean, makes sense since it's too risky to untie his hands but. . . do you mean you actually spoon fed him?"

Carrie nodded.

The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist started to chortle, shaking with laughter. "Oh. I bet Pretty Boy loved that."

"I think the entire experience was a humbling thing for him." The teenager admitted.

"The lesson of humility takes time to. . . ah, "stick" as you say, for my family." Thor admitted. "At least for Loki and I."

The blonde teenager went into further detail of her stay at the island. Thor barely held back a snort when she revealed she would escort Loki to the designated "bathroom" and how the two of them managed to collect enough food not to starve.

Then, she dropped the bombshell. Loki taking the Tesseract with him when she was too weak to stop him, returning to the cave (he must have brought Older Steve with him) and meeting Older Steve himself. The information he revealed.

Agents Barton and Romanoff looked at each other, stiff and cold fury in their eyes. There was fear too though, but Carrie couldn't be sure as to why. They were both very casual about the high mortality rate of their professions and the increasingly nasty ways they could be killed. Steve had gone very still, in shock, horror and . . . was that relief?

Thor was pale.

"Thanos is coming." He whispered.

"I take it that's someone we should be afraid of." Bruce looked like he wanted a drink he knew he wasn't getting.

"He courts Death." Thor muttered, pacing the room. "Wherever he goes, only half survive the encounter. Be it an entire planet or a lone ship – half of the poor souls are slain as a tribute to Death. He and his followers show no mercy – any man, woman, or child in their way is murdered until he deems the number satisfactory."

Carrie paled as Bruce ran a hand over his face.

"If SHIELD falls to HYDRA we'll be doomed way before he gets here." Agent Romanoff said tightly. "We need to tell Fury."

Tony was quiet, his expression unreadable except for the furrow of his brow that indicated his brain was turning the information over in his head.

"Old Steve told Carrie that HYDRA is watching SHIELD's every move. How long has this been going on? How high up the chain of command are they?" Agent Barton fidgeted in place, foot tapping. "Fury and Hill, they're clean, I know it. Everyone else though? What if those bastards snuck sleeper agents inside?"

"We need to do some serious homework." Tony said, finally. "Well, I do anyway."

"The files you hacked?" Agent Romanoff asked.

"Good place to start as any." The billionaire seemed subdued, his jaw tight.

"What about the Tesseract?" Steve asked. "I . . . the other me said that Loki would give it back."

"He said that Loki would give it up." Bruce corrected. "Not to whom. For all we know it's going to the hands of someone who will help us in the future. That's probably the safest way to hide it since SHIELD is compromised. The future Steve was also following the instructions of someone who told him things needed to happen this way."

"I must warn Asgard of Thanos." Thor said urgently. "Without the Tesseract I cannot return home."

"We can't not search for it either." Steve agreed. "It would be the enemy on alert. We'll have to see if there's another way to send you home."

"This is why I hate and love spoilers." Tony sighed, thinking of all the work ahead of them. The next few years were going to be hell.

"What about me?" Carrie asked hesitantly. When all eyes turned to her, she continued. "You. . . you told me that Loki's boss wanted to include me in the deal. What could he want with me?"

"That was speculation on my part." Bruce cautioned; his lips pressed together.

"I guess it's a good thing you'll have to stay here for a while." Tony muttered.

"What?" Carrie asked.

"Kid, moving you around right now would be reckless." Agent Barton said. "For your own sake, it would be better if you recovered here. Besides, we have no idea who's HYDRA. Putting you back in SHIELD's fulltime care would be bad."

"Understatement." Steve said flatly, thinking of Bucky, strapped to a table after being tortured and experimented on. Thinking of the HYDRA bases he helped capture and the sight of the test subjects who died before rescue arrived. "We need to keep you as far away from them as possible."

"I guess you're right." Carrie said. "I can get training too. . . and get to know Rachel."

"Rachel?" Thor asked.

The blonde girl smiled, a real honest smile. "Mama lied about when Dad died. He left her and fathered a daughter with another woman. I have a little sister; her name is Rachel Lang."

"Well, I'll be dammed." Tony said. "Congrats kid. Does she. . . ?"

"Yes." She said. "Rachel has the same powers. I guess whatever this is, we got it from our father."

"The women in your father's family have a history of mental illness." Agent Romanoff said. "This could have been why."

"We need to talk to the Professor about this." Bruce said worriedly. "If SHIELD doesn't know about Carrie's sister yet, we need to keep it that way."

"They don't." Agents Barton and Romanoff assured him.

The next few minutes were filled with chatter as they discussed what their next move would be. Carrie would have to sit out much of the immediate preparations due to her enforced bedrest, but once she recovered and received training, the teenager would be able to pitch in.

Carrie sat back against her pillows. Whatever came next she would be facing it as part of a group, not alone. She had friends and a sister. If she could go from the miserable emptiness that her life was in Chamberlain, to this instead. . . For all the violence and death this path held, it was better than what she didn't have before. Carrie would face everything HYDRA and this Thanos threw at them with genuine, sincere, hope.

Hope you all enjoyed this! Next story will be up in two or three days.

Sincerely,

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