"Do we have a back-up plan for in case any of this fails?" Bruce asked, stepping up beside Loki as they looked out from the balcony of Stark Tower. It had been a few days since their return from England and the scientist had found no trace of Clint or Bucky. They were just... Gone. Out of everyone, Steve and Loki seemed to be taking the news the worst with Natasha and Phil close behind though they all hid it behind a faux image. Silently, everyone could only hope that Loki was right and Clint and Bucky had somehow ended up with the guardians. And if they were with the guardians the duo would either be collecting the stones that weren't on Earth or they'd be returning home.

"I would assume same as last time. But, I won't be around to see it," Loki informed, crossing his arms over his chest. About every other dimension seemed to understand why he needed to move on but the ones that didn't often times argued with the trickster about him abandoning them. Loki had long ago learned that explaining this to Thor without back-up was impossible, he'd always react negatively. Tony often times would get mad as well but in the final moments would understand. Steve was a seventy/thirty on reactions. It always depended on when Loki admitted to him what the trickster had planned. Natasha never seemed to care, even if it meant that Loki was leaving Clint behind without any rescue. But, Loki knew that she always hated his decision in each dimension though she never voiced it. Bruce though, he was usually the most understanding which made things so much better that it was Bruce now asking Loki of the plans. Which speaking of, Loki glanced to him to see the doctor was arching an eyebrow. Loki quickly looked away again. "If I can find one dimension that can stop Thanos... Then I can get those heroes to venture to the others and stop him there. Make sure that he never wins."

"And if those people don't want too?" Bruce countered, his tone curious. Mentally, the trickster ticked off another number to his tally of repeated questions. At this point the true number is a random guess but he liked the 'soothing' attitude of counting how many times people acted in a similar way. After that, Loki sighed as he tried to figure out how best to answer Bruce. He could lie. Evade. Be so truthful it sounded like a lie... He shook his head and looked to the doctor.

"The use of the Infinity Stones woke powers beyond Thanos."

"Yeah, you said stronger aliens come to kick Thanos's ass and find us instead," Bruce reminded, arching an eyebrow. Loki nodded. He remembered mentioning that stronger beings came. But, what else had he said? Had he said who it was? How many? How easy it would be for them to be... When the Lie-smith didn't add to his statement, Bruce looked over and stared at him. It took a moment before Bruce realized what was wrong. "You didn't say everything, did you?"

"I am not the only being dimension hopping," Loki admitted with a deep sigh. There were many beings that often dimension hopped. A few had been chasing him, or at least chasing the energy display from the Infinity Stones. Bruce sighed in almost resignation. The Avengers would forever be fighting one battle or another. It would never end. Loki pursed his lips and looked toward the sky. "So far, I have not had any issue with one but I imagine it won't last. Especially in the dimension in which we win."

"So, you want to join everyone together, every dimension to fight all evil?" Bruce questioned, shifting so he had his back to the view of New York. Loki gently shook his head. It wasn't as simple as all that. 'All evil' was too much. But the ones that were searching for the stones were the most important ones. The one that would likely be the first to arrive... Well...

"Stephen Strange has... Or will deal with a dark dimension entity. One called Dormammu. Strange created a bargain with him to stay away. He did so in many dimensions. But, with each SNAP, Strange disappeared. And so, Dormammu returned," Loki explained, shuddering slightly as he remembered the reaching tendrils of that black and purple mass from the first dimension. His dimension. It was Dormammu and his power that had truly given Loki the idea to jump dimensions, though he'd never really admit that.

"Are there aliens that come, or just Dormammu?" Bruce wondered, glancing over to Loki. A dark dimension creature would endlessly search, no matter how often people fight him. If they can even win in the first place. Loki looked down, his eyes focusing on the sight of a young boy happily bouncing along the sidewalk with a smiling woman calmly following. All these people... They'd all die. They'd all be destroyed if he didn't succeed. Honestly, he had thought he'd be numb to this by now. But there was something about this world. About how everyone acted that made Loki want to save them. Want to keep fighting until his last breath. But he couldn't. If they failed, he'd need to move on...

"Both. Really depends on how quickly Dormammu returns. Even if Thanos wins and we allow Dormammu to come. And we beat Dormammu back, there will always be a bigger threat coming. Something stronger," Loki described knowing that Dormammu is only the first evil to fight after Thanos. He had sensed it once. A being of some kind that seemed only driven to feed on energy, feed on life. But, if Strange never vanished in the SNAP, Loki doubted the dark entity would return. Strange had done something to Dormammu that made him stay away and that something had broken the moment Strange left. Bruce frowned. "By stopping Thanos before the universe learns of Earth's advancements, these things never come to pass."

"The Chitauri-" Bruce started but Loki shook his head. They weren't a big deal in the long run. A mere child could easily defeat them if put in the proper place.

"Are a weak race. Many care not for them. There are simply many which cause the issue when fighting them," Loki interrupted. Bruce's frown deepened. He knew they had beaten the Chitauri at the cost of many lives and a bit of Tony's mental health, and he remembered what Rocket had said in the time before. Destroy the 'mother ship' and they'd all die. But without easy space travel, it would be difficult to find the mother ship. The doctor sighed. At some point Tony and him would need to figure out how to travel safely in space.

The two shifted into silence as they thought the situation over. Things were left in a confusing battle or what ifs. Honestly, Loki wasn't certain of anything. He had no idea if he'd ever be able to stop any of this. All of it was a mere guess. But, he felt that he needed to do something. After everything and the fact that it was typically always a Loki that started the notice on Midgard, it was almost like his responsibility to fix it all.

"How do we know that this will work? That stopping Thanos keeps us safe?" Bruce inquired after a minute or two, shifting to look back out over New York. Loki sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. After everything that had happened to him, through all the dimensions he had traveled...

"I don't," he admitted. Bruce looked to him in concern. Feeling his gaze, Loki turned to him with a determined look in his eyes. "But I do know one thing. The dimension will fall if Thanos wins."

"Perfect," the scientist whispered, looking over the final plans. All he had to do now was load the program into the exo-skeleton he had built so long ago. The silver glittered as the scientist walked over to look at the machine he had built. He smiled, gently rubbing the 'face' before turning back to his computer. His plans were all coming together! If this worked.. "You'll bring about peace."

"We hope so," Wanda cooed unbeknownst to the scientist as she looked over his shoulder to make sure that things went their way. The plans were coming closer to fruition. Soon Tony Stark would be dead and no one would be the wiser that she had done it. That she had lead the charge. In the back of her mind she kept the information she had received from Bucky Barnes pushed aside. There was no way it could happen again. The need for revenge on Tony far outweighed the things the Sergeant had said. Besides... It wasn't became of Tony this time. Her brother zoomed closer, all but shaking out of his clothes with excitement. The longer this had taken the more frustrated and pent up he had become.

"He finally done?" the speedster cried. Wanda nodded walking to the other side of the robot. She leaned forward, ignoring the impatientness of the few minutes older brother.

"Our time of peace and the death of Stark is coming." A moment later the robot's eyes turned bright red.

"Are we seriously thinking of doing this?" Rocket wondered, looking everyone over. It was clear that Clint's reaction before walking away had seemed to sway at least Quill. The man couldn't stop thinking about it. Something about all this made him want to believe what Clint had been saying. And if Clint was right, selling the Orb was the wrong thing to do. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. Gamora had been thinking of the same thing and Drax had basically admitted that he 'cared not for the money.' All he had wanted was revenge on Ronan. And Groot... Well... No one really knew what the Tree thought of this. "Four billion units."

"We can't run the risk that they are right," Gamora explained in frustration. Quill sighed before punching the center display console in aggravation. He hated being trapped in a situation like this. A damned if you do, damned if you don't. It sucked cause typically, no one made the right choice. "If Thanos gets these stones..."

"We get it. Worlds go kaput," Quill snapped, looking up at her with a dark glare as if this entire thing was her fault. Even though it was him that had originally collected the Orb from it's spot. Gamora crossed her arms over her chest. It was clear that she wanted a better plan as well. But if Clint and Bucky were right...

"I am Groot," the tree replied. Everyone looked to him for a moment. "I am Groot."

"Yeah, big guy. Sorry. Can't... I can't translate that," Rocket muttered. The tree huffed. There were few times that Groot hated not being able to speak clearly for all to understand and this was certainty one of those times. It would be so much easier if he had other ways to communicate.

"I am Groot," he attempted again a bit slower. While Rocket was typically good at understanding him, the raccoon didn't actually truly know his language and often used his own words for Groot. Groot had never often cared but he knew this was important. And Groot knew it couldn't be left up to mistranslation. Rocket frowned at the tree.

"Are you saying that you want to do this? You want to give up the units?" Rocket questioned, his voice turning to disbelief. Groot nodded, pleased that his point had been made this time. Sadly that made Rocket toss his paws into the air. "Unbe-fricken-lievable."

"I care not for units. What of Ronan? I wish to extract my revenge," Drax informed once again. Everyone looked to him and gave him a blank gaze. This wasn't the first time he had mentioned his desire to just see Ronan. He'd been a bit more vocal about it since Clint and Bucky had walked away. What the others hadn't known was that Clint had used his magic to silence the man in an effort to make sure everyone focused on the issue of the Orb and not of Ronan. "It is imperative I get to him soon."

"How do we even know they can protect the Orb from Thanos?" Rocket countered, ignoring Drax as he turned to look at the others. It was clear to everyone at this point that Drax could care less what happened with the Orb. And so, they didn't care about his revenge story. Their plan for him was quickly turning into dropping him off somewhere and flying off without him. "What if they're working for Thanos?"

"They do not work for him," Gamora argued. She knew everyone who worked for Thanos and there was no way the titan would work with Terrans. "And they are right. Where else can we hide it? If they did beat Thanos before, they'd know how to do it again."

"They've been saying there are other stones on Terra! Like a fricken beacon just claiming 'Thanos we did all the work!'" Rocket added. Gamora sighed. She had thought of that as well. But even without the collection that was there, Thanos would sooner or later find the stones. The protection of something was needed. And the protections that had worked before, clearly are not working anymore. Drax shook his head and wandered away, his eye catching sight of a communication panel. While many people thought him stupid, Drax did actually know a lot. And that meant he knew what to do. Groot tilted his head slightly to the side as he watched the Destroyer wander over in that direction.

"They said they beat him before," Quill pointed out once again. The frown on his face showed that he wasn't fully sure he was as on board with the plan as it looked. While he agreed it might not be good to sell the Orb, bringing it to Earth was a different story. Terra was well known as a weak planet, ripe for the picking. How would they be able to stop Thanos? Rocket shook his head.

"Yeah, after losing once," the raccoon snapped, waving his paw in the direction of the room they were pretty sure the duo had taken refuge in. Gamora softly growled, nearly pinching her nose.

"No matter what we decide, we know one thing. We can't sell the Orb," Gamora stated. Rocket's attention snapped to her, his eyes wide. In doing so he missed Quill nodding in agreement. As much as it pained the 'Star-Lord,' he did know that. Selling the Orb and giving it to someone who didn't know the danger wouldn't be fair. Even with the amount of units he'd be walking away with. There was no way Quill would risk the universe.

"Excuse you?" the raccoon asked. Groot turned back to the others as soon as Drax started to turn on the communication panel. It was clear what the Destroyer intended on doing and it certainly wouldn't be good.

"Thanos cannot get his hands on this," Gamora reminded, grabbing at the silver Orb that had been placed in the middle of the entire group. She shook it in Rocket's direction. "Right or wrong, this is too dangerous."

"I am Groot," the tree basically hummed.

"Yeah, what he said!" Rocket agreed, waving a paw toward Groot. Groot arched an eyebrow.

"You are Groot?" Quill questioned making Rocket glare at him. "What, I can't understand him!"

"He said that everywhere is too dangerous," Rocket translated. "No one can protect it forever."

"That's a long translation for three words," Quill mumbled which had everyone turn and glare at him. Shaking his head, Groot turned back to look at Drax again. How was he going to let them know what Drax was planning? Sighing, Quill continued. "But, what do you propose we do with it?"

"Sell it to the highest bidder and get the frick away," Rocket replied as if it was obvious. Completely ignoring the fact that Clint and Bucky had said 'the entire universe' would be affected if Thanos got a hold of the stones. Gamora let out a frustrated growl before slamming both her hands down on the console.

"We've already agreed that we can't do that!" Rocket stepped forward, pointing a claw at Gamora.

"No! You agreed! I want the fricken money!"

"I am Groot," Groot called, his attention not on the fighting duo. Instead he was trying to warn them of the impending danger. It wouldn't be long before Drax was done and something needed to be done soon. Groot knew he could go after Drax himself. He could wrap him in vines and sticks, preventing him from moving. But the last time he had done that Rocket almost walked away from him. Rocket ignored him as Gamora stepped toward him.

"What good is money if Thanos destroys everything?"

"You only care cause you're gonna die!" Rocket screamed. Gamora's eyes widened in surprise at those words. Yes, she didn't want to die. No one really did. She didn't fear it at all. Some day she'd die... But it wasn't just her that would be threatened. It was everyone. How could Rocket not care?

"I am Groot," Groot interjected, looking toward the group and then back to Drax.

"Whoa! That's too far man," Quill announced, hands up as if he could step in to stop Gamora and Rocket. The raccoon hardly looked phased. He meant it as evilly as he had stated. All Rocket could think of was the money. Damn everything else.

"I am gonna get the money for the Orb and then I'm gonna turn your ass over to Yondu!" Rocket claimed, pointing to Quill and then back to Gamora. "And maybe Thanos would be willing to pay me for information."

"Thanos would kill you!" Gamora shouted, slamming her hand against the consul again. Rocket gave her a sharp and dark laugh. It was clear now that most of what the raccoon was saying was out of anger and maybe even fear. But no amount of money in the universe would ever save him from Thanos.

"I am Groot!"

"Then I'll do it from a distance!" Rocket sarcastically huffed as if that was the most obvious thing to do. Gamora growled at the raccoon. She didn't fear for her life or even his. What she feared was Thanos getting a hold of her again. Thanos would make her suffer. Would make her watch as he took away everything.

"Rocket, you can't do that. We need a plan!" Quill attempted, holding his hands out as if offering something to him.

"Distance or not, Thanos will find you!"

"I AM GROOT!"

"WHAT!?" three voices screamed as the trio turned to look at Groot. The tree pointed behind them toward the communication device. All they could do is note the man before it before Drax suddenly cackled.

"I shall have my revenge!"

"Oh no."

I'M ALIVE!

Sorry for vanishing as long as I did. I had been put on medication that left me sleeping nearly every hour of the day and night. My mind could hardly focus on anything so writing/editing was impossible. But, my medication has been corrected. I can't fully promise the weekly updates still but I should be better than before.

Darius has started kindergarten. A seriously scary thing for me and certainly new as Clint never was old enough to do the same. Thankfully, Darius seems to be enjoying it. Sadly, he has gotten a HUGE attitude problem with hubby and me. More me than hubby and I blame my messed up meds for a lot of it cause I just sort of waved things off for the longest time. So, time for correction. And like all normal children, some days are better than others. But things are going much better now.

For those that follow my original work, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned but the sequel to my published book is done and is just waiting on editing (mine and professional). I had started book three but it needs some serious work. And during my medication mishap, I've gotten a few other ideas, one of which I have started. Don't know when any of this will be ready but I felt best to let you all know.

Thanks so much for waiting and I hope that everything is cleared up now.