Chapter 105
Hey everyone sorry for the delay but this one took a while to put together, One of the biggest questions from past chapters will finally be addressed and we get to see some cameos. Without further ado here it is. let me know what you think and as always thank you. Enjoy :)
I walked into the lobby and there was Chief Matthews.
"Nora it is so good to see you." He said. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"It's not a problem it's nice to get out of the house." I answered. It'll give me time to figure out what I want to say to Wren. What was I going to say to Wren? Did he mean what he said? I mean when a guys says I love you during sex it doesn't actually mean he love you it just means he loves having sex with you, or so I read in cosmo, my new go to for relationship advice since Jess was gone. I should talk to Sam he'll know what to do.
"Well I had your old locker stocked with some clean scrubs, you have Johnson and Edwards in your service and if you need anything you know where to find me." He said.
"Thanks Chief." I said before walking in to the attending's lounge.
I got dressed and headed down to the OR.
"Johnson, Edwards…" I said and they both tackled me with a hug. "Uh, good to see you too?"
"Please tell me you're back for good." Johnson said.
"Minnick is insane." Edwards said.
"Who's Minnick?" I asked.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, you incompetent moron?!" A woman with long black hair dressed in scrubs yelled in front of an eight-year-old patient.
"I take it that's Minnick?" I said and they both nodded. "Okay, you two remember how to triage?"
"Yes ma'am." They both said.
"Okay then get to it, the first patient you get to that needs surgery start prepping and come get me." I said. "Go."
The next couple of hours were a blur. I had Edwards cleaning out debris from burns and cuts. She needed more hours on plastics and that would help out. Johnson on the other hand needed to do more hours of Trauma because he had decided to specialize in pediatric surgery. The patient we were operating was only eight years old, making this surgery his turf.
We got in and the kid was still conscious after he was impaled with a metal rod to his seat.
We scrubbed in and got to work. I got in there and saw that the metal rod didn't directly pierce any major organs. We pulled it out and then the monitors started going off and blood was gushing everywhere. As it turns out the pipe had a few nails drilled onto it we didn't notice.
"Fuck." I said. We started draining the blood and putting pressure.
"I can't find the bleed." Johnson asked.
"That's cuz there's multiple bleeds." I said. I put my hand in and felt a bleed on his kidney.
"There's one on the kidney." I said,
"Another on the liver." Johnson said.
"We need two more units of blood." I said.
"On it." an intern said.
We fixed what we could before he started coding. "Charge to two hundred and clear." I said. The heart rate went up again and we got back to work before Bess the anesthesiologist stopped us.
"Doctor Spencer, the patient's pupil's are unresponsive." Bess said.
"Fuck." I said.
"What does that mean?" Johnson asked.
"Pupil's unresponsive, sign of brain function loss. He's brain dead." I said. "Close him up we have to tell the family."
We did and just as we were about to leave everything started glowing and I was back in the prep room.
"The patient is ready Doctor Spencer." Johnson said.
"Uh, be right in." I said. That was weird. Massive déjà vu. I walked into the OR and saw the patient. He was the same patient as before.
We operated the same but as when we got to taking the rod out I stopped. Johnson had his hands on the rod when I said, "No! Don't take it out."
"What, We need to get it out." Johnson argued.
"No we need to get an X-ray, make sure the rod is in one piece." I said.
"We don't have time!" Johnson said.
"The patient's stable." I said. "Better safe than sorry.
Then the machines started beeping wildly.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Patient's O2 levels are dropping." Bess said.
"Must have punctured fractured a rib and a bone fragment punctured the lung." I said.
"We need to drain the lung before he suffocates." Johnson said.
"Ten blade." I said.
"Blood pressure dropping." Bess told us.
"Charge to two hundred, Clear." I called out.
"Patient stable." Bess called out.
"Okay, relieve pressure on the lung and patch it." I told Johnson. "I need an ultrasound machine need to check the best way to get that rod out without causing anymore damage."
A few minutes later breathing was restored and I saw the exact angle the rod went in.
"Okay, I have to twist the rod slightly to avoid any damage to the spine. As I started moving it out the patient started coding again.
"Charge to two fifty, Clear." I said nothing. "I'm going again, Charge to three hundred, Clear."
Nothing, he wouldn't resist another hit.
"I'm calling it, Time of Death 12:15 PM." I said and then I was back in the prep room.
"What the hell is going on?" I said to myself.
"I'm teaching you a lesson," Aya said from beside me.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're out of line and this can't keep going the way you are. It wont; end well for anyone. I've always said things happen for a reason. People die and that's life. You can't keep throwing tantrums and blasting yourself to prove a point. And until you accept that fact you will continue to repeat the past three hours." Aya said.
"Aya don't do this." I said.
"Accept the inevitable and then this will all be over." Aya said before disappearing.
She couldn't possibly mean…
"The patient is ready Doctor Spencer." Johnson said.
"Okay, lets go save a life." I said.
One tetanus infection later…
"Time of death 12:30." I said.
Liver failure…
"Time of death 12:32" I said.
Severed Bile Duct…
"Time of Death 12:25." I said.
Stroke…
"Time of Death 12:35." I said.
I don't know how many times I those three words but each time the death was more gruesome and bloody than the last.
"Had enough yet?" AYa asked.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because after all these years you still haven't learned, you can't fight fate. That boy's death, Wren's imminent demise, it was always going to happen. No matter how much you try to fight it, things will always turn out the same." She said.
"So what now, there's an eight year old's body in the morgue and I have to go tell the parents or do I need to repeat the lesson?" I said.
"Go tell the parents and go home, you have a date." She said.
"One last thing." I said.
"What is it?" She said.
"Don't ever interfere in my life again." I said putting an energy field around her.
"Nora…" She said panicking.
"I have let you destroy my life, keep me away from my soul mates and watch as every person I care about dies. I'm done with you." I said forming a fist and crashing the force field into her making her disappear.
I wiped the tears and took a deep breath. I wasn't sad or depressed anymore. I was just angry.
I told the parents the sad news and called it a day. I got home and locked myself in my room.
I don't know how long I was alone but eventually Wren knocked on my door.
"Nora, you okay?" He asked.
"It's just been a crappy day, I'll be down in a it." I said.
"Okay." He said.
I took a deep breath and composed myself. I had this need to punch something so hard right now. I teleported downstairs and the second Wren turned to look at me I started getting the chills.
"Fuck." I said.
"Oh no." he groaned. I started glowing and before I knew it I was gone. When I opened my eyes I was in some old warehouse.
"Nora?" I heard someone say.
"Dum Dum?" I said. "Where the hell am I?"
"Nora?" I heard someone say. I looked over and saw Steve and Bucky huddled over someone. I saw Bucky's uniform and I looked down and saw myself lying on the ground.
"That explains a lot." I said.
"Y-you're alive." Bucky said.
"Looks that way." I said getting closer. I took my pulse and realized I was dead. "Or not. This is Oradour-Sur-Glane, France, 1944. Son of a bitch." I said. Suddenly there were gunshots and everyone ducked except me, I just put up a force field.
"Gonna go on a hunch and say we're surrounded with nowhere to go?" I said.
"Yeah." Gabe answered.
"Sounds fun." I said I moved over to my dead body and took of out my gun and knives from their holsters.
"What do you mean fun?" Dum Dum asked.
"I'm having a pretty shitty day and I feel like punching something, there happens to be about what a hundred German soldiers out there? They aren't going to let us out so we fight our way out." I said.
"Nora you can't do that." Steve said.
"I kind of wasn't asking." I said. Trying to walk forward but Steve and Bucky stood in my way.
"Doll think this through." Bucky said.
"I have now if you'll excuse me." I said taking a step forward but Bucky and Steve were standing their ground so I teleported behind them and kept walking until I took a step and there was a weird metallic thud. I tapped my foot and heard the sound again. "What the…"
I took a step back and shot an energy blast towards the grounds. There was a giant boom and there was an entrance to a tunnel. I guess they didn't lie about that part of the story.
"Oh look a way out." I said I kept moving forward and looked out the window. We were surrounded.
"Let's get her out of here." Bucky said.
"Leave me here." I said.
"What? We can't do that." Steve said astonished I would even suggest it.
"Carrying around a dead body will just slow you down. They don't care about a dead body, it's just one less person for them to worry about. Go do what you have to and when it's safe come back for it." I said before I started moving what was being used to barricade the door.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Dum Dum asked.
"I'm going to work through some of my stress." I said before teleporting outside.
"Halt bleiben, wo du bist und leg deine Hände hoch." Halt stay where you are and put your hands up. One of them called out.
I stopped where I was and slowly put my hands uplifting a force field up. They started shooting right away. I held all the bullets up in place. When they stopped firing I sent them back to where they were fired from. I walked toward the first soldier that was closest to me and I kneeled down next to me.
"P-please." He begged.
"Tell me what I want and you can go." I said and he nodded.
"What happened to the people of this town, and I don't want the same lies you tell everyone else." I said.
"Sturmbannfuhrer Deichmann had them all gather at the square and then we fired at the. They're buried in a mass grave at the edge of town." He said.
"Why?" I asked. "Why would someone give that order?" that made him laugh.
"No one gave the order, we have been stationed at a town a few miles away from here and we got bored. There was a brothel in town and we decided to visit. One of the men slept with a Jew and got mad and shot the woman. The locals found out who we were and started a riot. Half of my platoon was killed. We came back and the Sturmbannfuhrer asked what happened. We told him the town was over run with Jews and he said it was time for target practice. We took the town and shot them all down." He said.
"All of this was because you and your friends couldn't keep it in your pants?" I said.
"A man has needs." He said with a smirk. "Just like I know the fuhrer will enjoy tearing you apart piece by piece you bitch." He said with a snarl.
"Thank you for your cooperation." I said before breaking him neck.
"Nora?" Steve said from behind me. "What did you do?" He said looking around.
"What needed to be done?" I said walking away. "You should have stayed with the team." I said walking towards the town.
"Where are you going?" He said. "The teams that way."
"Then you know where to go." I said.
"Nora stop." He said but I ignored him. I heard him run after me and then he grabbed my arm. "What is wrong with you? Why are you so angry?"
"I'm not the Nora you know, I'm from the future. I don't follow your orders and the less we talk the better." I said teleporting out of his grasp.
"How are you here, you died?" He said.
"You'll find out later." I said.
"Can you just talk to me for one damn minute?" He said frustrated.
"What do you want me to say? I'm not apologizing for what I did or what I will do. I'm not going to stay by your side and blindly follow you, Go with the team do what you came here to do and I'll do what I feel I need to do." I said moving forward,
He ran up to me and pushed me against the side of the building. "Why are you so damn angry at me, you can't even look me in the eye?" He said.
"I'm going to ask you a question and don't bother lying because I already know the answer. If you had to choose between Bucky and I who would you chose?" I said.
"You know I couldn't make that choice." Steve said.
"That's a lie." I said.
"Why are you asking?" He said. "That has nothing to do with any of this."
"It has everything to do with that choice because I'm a consequence of making that choice. Go back Steve, they need you." I said teleporting out of his hold and walking away. This time he didn't follow.
I made it through the town and found the house we had walked into before. I looked around and finally a found a map of the town.
"What are you doing Nora?" Aya said.
"What I was too weak to do before. That's why you sent me here isn't it? I can't fight fate this was always supposed to happen. Deichmnn didn't have bombs all over this place I was the bomb.' I said. "Now that you've made your point and made sure I learned my lesson leave."
"I didn't want this to happen Nora."
"Did you? Did you really? Any of the good things I had going in my life you just had to shit on them. My job you had to twist into one of your sick life lessons. My best friend had to die exactly the way my mom did. The man I who I fell in love with is dying and you won't lift a single finger to save him. Fuck you Aya." I said.
"You really think I wanted any of that to happen? You're not the only one who cares about Wren. He dies and I'm stuck alone with you. The most stubborn and aggravating host I've ever been forced to live with." She said.
"Who do you think got me to this point? You ever think that the reason none of your hosts end well or they end up going crazy is because you made them that way? That thought ever cross your mind?!" I said.
"None of you ever understand the bigger picture, the weight I carry. The gift of knowing every possible outcome before it happens how ever single choice will add up." She said. "You're just like my brothers."
"Well they made a good call, getting as far away from you as possible." I said.
"You'll come to regret saying that." She said before disappearing.
I looked over at the map and figured out where I was and where I had to go. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I stayed hidden and waited until I saw who it was, a German soldier. I used an energy blast to hold him against the wall.
"Lass mich dich gehen lassen," Let me go you cunt, He said.
"Wir müssen einen Plausch haben." We need to have a chat I answered. I through him onto a chair and held him there. Then I heard the door burst open and the Commandos walked in.
"Nora!" Bucky said.
"Kind of in the middle of something." I said not even bothering to look his way.
"Erzähl mir alles was du weißt, wo jeder steht, Patrouillenrouten, Fahrpläne und wo Deichmann ist." Tell me everything you know, where everyone stands, patrol routes, timetables and where Deichmann is. I told him.
"Why should I?" He answered in heavily accented English.
"You speak English?" I said.
"I am my squadron's translator used to interrogate you rats." He said.
"Well that makes this easier, Tell me what I asked for." I said pointing at the map in front of him."
"Why should I you'll just kill me afterwards." He said.
"No we…" Steve started but I interrupted.
"Yes but it's up to you how you want to do it, quick and painless or slowly pulled apart." I said.
"Nora a word?" Steve said.
"I told you before I don't follow your orders not anymore." I answered. "Start talking." I told the soldier.
"Rot in hell bitch." He said. I got the knife and stabbed it in his thigh.
"AH!" He shouted.
"You got about four minutes before you bleed out. You just pissed off the only person that knows how to stop it. I'd think very carefully before you open our mouth." I said getting up and walking to the kitchen where everyone was sitting down.
They stared at me as I went in and grabbed a glass of water.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bucky yelled.
"It's called an interrogation you've done a lot of those before." I said.
"Because we had to, that was just that was vengeful and blind rage." Bucky said.
"What would you have done?" I said and everyone went quiet.
"Okay I'll talk!" the soldier yelled.
"Eighty seconds, smart man." I said before walking over and putting the glass of water in front of him.
"There are patrols around the center of town constantly, Deichman and his second in command are here at city hall. There are three tanks stationed at the front and four are in patrol. There are roughly four hundred and fifty eight, three hundred and ninety five now." He said.
"So seven average tanks and three hundred and ninety five soldiers and their all within the center of town. That's easy enough." I said. "Thanks for the help."
"Y-your not going to kill me?" He said sounding surprised.
"Considering what's about to happen, there isn't much of a point." I said.
"But my leg?" He said.
"I didn't hit the femoral artery." I said. Taking the map off the table to try and find the best route to the center of town. "You're not going to bleed out."
"What but you said a–and…" He said.
"Your self preservation skills are admirable. I'd get out of town while you still can and if I ever see you again, you're dead." I said patting him on the shoulder. "Good luck."
I walked into the kitchen and put the map down.
"Did you…" Steve asked.
"No, he's just a kid that had no idea what he got himself into, that and he kinda pissed himself and I felt sorry for him. So Deichmann and his soldiers are all centered in the town square. Patrolled by four tanks with three stationed right in front of city hall. Take this way out of town and don't look back." I said before I started walking out of the house.
"Where are you going?" Steve asked.
"To end this. After it's over go find me, I'll be very confused when I wake up and whatever you do, do not, I repeat do not mention me being here. Don't fuck up the timeline. I've done enough damage as is." I said. I pulled Bucky into a kiss before doing the same to Steve. I leaned my forehead against his and said, "Don't be an idiot."
With that I left. I walked to the town square and saw that that the information the soldier had given me was spot on. I figured I could sneak in and try to go unnoticed but considering I knew how this ended I would rather save us all some time.
I used an energy blast and sent one tank crashing into another. The soldiers started shooting and put up a force field I sent all the gunshots flying back. I kept walking into the town square and all the tanks were pointed at me.
"You were foolish to come here alone, Captain America sent his bitch to do his dirty work." Deichmann said from his window.
"No, I came on my own because they didn't want to slow me down." I put my hands up and squeezed the three tanks into one giant ball of metal.
"Stop Her!" He shouted. The soldiers started lining up around me and aiming their guns at me.
"You asked for it." I said. I closed my eyes and sent out an energy blast knocking them all out.
"Nora don't do this." Steve said.
"Please Doll." Bucky said.
"I thought I told you to leave." I said.
"We're not leaving you." Steve said.
"Not yet." I muttered. "Get away from here, things are about to get ugly."
"No." Bucky said.
"Fine then, don't say I didn't warn you." I said before teleporting up to city hall.
"W-what are you?" Deichmann said.
"Nora that's enough." Aya said.
"No it's not, you made it very clear it's not." I said taking a step forward.
"If you do this there's no going back." Aya said.
"That's what was meant to be wasn't it?" I retorted.
"What are you going to do taunt me to death." Deichmann taunted.
"You're not ready."Aya said. She got closer to me.
"Now you want to send me back?" I asked, "What about the timeline?"
"I'll take care of it." With that she put two fingers on my forehead and next thing I know I'm standing in the middle of a wasteland surrounded by the commandos, Steve and Bucky at my side holding me up.
"What the hell?" I said looking around. "What did I…"
"Time stone took over." Steve said. "It packs a punch."
"Did she say anything?" I asked.
"Besides calling Steve an idiot nope." Bucky said and I got the chills.
"I have to go, whatever happens don't tell me what happened here. She can't know."
"We know." They all said and I started glowing.
Next thing I knew I was back home standing in front of Wren.
"You're back." He said with a smile but it went away when he saw the look on my face. "What happened?"
"France 1944." I said.
"What about it?" He said.
"I just found out what happened after I died." I said.
"What happened?" He asked getting a wet dishcloth and trying to take some of the blood off my hands.
"I did." I said.
"Huh." He said. Confused.
"I may have taken things a bit to far." Aya said. "Nora get up."
"No, I'm done with you." I said.
"Well I'm not." She said. "I've slacked off on getting you ready and it's time I made up for that."
"Aya, you can't." Wren started.
"I can and I will, say goodbye Nora." Aya said.
"Aya please don't do this." I cried. "Please. AH!" I started getting these intense stomach pains. My ears started ringing.
"What are you doing to her?" Wren said looking me over.
"Not babying her like you have." She said and then I started glowing. This felt different feeling like I was free falling and suddenly I landed on a hard surface.
"Ah!" I groaned.
"Nora!" I heard a lot of voices yell. I opened my eyes and saw Gramps, Peggy, Dum Dum and Colonel Philips.
"Ow." I said sitting up. That's when I realized I was lying on the conference table. "Oh shit, what year is this?"
"1950." Gramps said helping me off the table. "What happened?"
"France 1944 happened." I said.
"ooh." Gramps said.
"Aya took over then I was home, I had this pain then she sent me here." I said.
"Which is where you'll be staying until I think you're ready to go back." Aya said as she appeared.
"What do you mean I'm staying here?" I said.
"I'm stripping you of your powers and making you stay in the past. You've gone soft living in your own time." She said.
"Gone soft? For fucks sake Aya, the nine months from hell have literally been my personal hell! And through it all I did what you wanted, I killed all those people in France, I tortured a kid because I had to close the loop I was ready to do destroy that place what more do I have to do?!" I shouted
"You did all of that because you thought that's what I wanted not what needed to be done." She said. "I didn't wait thousands of years for you to be a mindless soldier, that brilliant head of yours and your selflessness that's what makes you the right host, but your attitude and actions recently, this blubbering trainwreck is not who I need. Until that girl is back you're staying here. Oh and I'm taking your abilities back till next time." She said before disappearing.
"Was she serious?" Gramps asked.
"I hope not." I said. I closed my eyes and tried to teleport. After a minute I opened my eyes and saw everyone staring at me. "Oh fuck." I put my hand out and tried to move a pen towards me. Still nothing, Force field? Still nothing. "This cannot be happening to me. Not now."
"Nora calm down." Peggy said.
"Pegs I'm stuck sixty four years in the past and my husband only has months if not weeks left to live. I need to get back." I said.
"Okay look we have that things I found in my last expedition it might work like last time and trigger a time jump." He said.
"Okay let's go." I said opening the door to the conference room.
We walked down the hall and into some weird elevator hidden behind a bookcase.
"So what's going on with Wren?" Gramps finally broke the silence.
"Inoperable brain tumor, he has months to live. Oh and we slept together and he said he loved me." I added.
"What?!" He said.
"It's been a rough couple of months." I said.
"Damn, I'm sorry."
"It's alright he got me off like three time in one go." I said.
"I meant about the tumor." Gramps deadpanned.
"Oh, yeah. I've had months to deal, I'm still dealing and then Aya just turned a shit day into a burning pile of shit and I really just want to go home and cuddle with my husband." I said.
"It's going to be okay, I'll get you home." He said putting a hand on my shoulder.
The elevator door opened and I followed Gramps through the lab. We came onto a locked door and he entered a passcode before we went in.
"Is that…" I said pointing to the blue glowing cube.
"HYDRA's secret weapon. I found it in the ocean while I was looking for… the Valkyrie. Being close to it's energy signature was enough to trigger it before, the actual thing should do it." He said.
"Well let's give it a try." I said getting close to it. I didn't feel anything.
"Give it some time." Gramps said.
Ten minutes later and still nothing.
"I don't feel anything." I said.
"Yeah if something was going to happen it would have by now." Gramps said.
"Ah, Mr. Stark come to check on our progress." A very familiar accented voice said.
"Grandpa,,," I said in a warning voice. "That better not be who I think it is."
"Nora just keep an open mind." Gramps started.
"Ah fraulien it's been a long time." Zola said.
I turned around and saw the beady eyes rat. I saw a wrench in front of me and I threw it at him. It hit him right in the forehead knocking him out.
"What the hell?"
"That's what I'm asking myself. What the hell is he doing here?" I yelled.
"We recruited him as part of Operation Paperclip."
"What the hell grandpa? I thought it was agreed that it was a horrible idea to keep him here!?" I yelled.
"It was a lesser of two evils okay. They wanted him down in Washington working for the CIA, Peggy, Philips and I thought it would be a better idea to keep him here where we can watch him." He defended.
"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" I yelled.
"Stop yelling!" He said.
"I'll stop yelling when you tell me your shipping that sick asshole to fucking Siberia or someplace no one will ever here from him!" I yelled back.
"Will you two shut up!" Peggy said walking in. "My office now!"
We begrudgingly followed after Peggy like two kids that got sent to the principal's office. Once we walked in she closed the door and sat down behind her desk.
"You were never supposed to find out like this…"Peggy started.
"No, you don't get to say that, that's the I walked in on a boyfriend in bed with someone else or the ever so classic your dad not calling you on your birthday because he was busy partying with his work buddies and you found out on the society page of the New York Times. This is not I hired a Nazi mass murderer responsible for the death of your soulmate and tortured you for days! You all knew how I felt about it and if you didn't want him in Washington then you should have kept him in prison." I said.
"You weren't around, I have an organization to get off the ground and he was an asset. I stand by what we decided." Peggy said.
"Peggy he's a sociopath that gets off on hurting those around him. Torturing people is just a game to him. You trust him to be a part of SHIELD?" I asked.
"I trust him to get the job done. It's a means to an end." She said.
"If you say so, but I'm not going to be here when you realize you just created a new Hydra. Good luck." I said storming out.
"Nora." Gramps called out. I ignored him and kept walking.
"Nora!" Dum Dum called out as I stormed out.
I walked out and saw Jarvis standing out by a car. "Ms. Stark." He said surprised to see him.
"Your boss is an idiot." I said before storming past him and walking out of the camp.
I forgot Camp Leigh was in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey. The closest bus stop was at least two hours away on foot. Good thing I went causal today.
"Nora," Gramps said as his car slowed to a crawl where I was walking on the road.
"Go away." I said.
"Can you stop for a damn minute and listen to me."
"Why Should I? I told you and everyone else not to do hire him and what's the first thing you did once I was gone?" I said as I kept walking.
"New York is miles away get in the car." He said.
"Who said I'm going to New York." I said as I kept walking.
"Where else would you go?" He said.
"Not sure, Let's see where I end up." I said.
"Nora come on." Gramps said.
"Go away." I said.
"I didn't have a say." He said.
"That's a load of crap and you know it. Peggy may be in charge but you pay for everything meaning you get final say which means you approved it. You Okayed to take the man who tortured me and was planning on dissecting me alive out of prison and giving him a corner office so I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth right now." I said
"It's getting dark and it's dangerous." Gramps said trying to scare me.
"I have a knife a gun and martial arts training let them try." I said.
"Fine then I'll tell Jarvis to drive off." He dared me.
"Go ahead." I said.
"I will." Gramps said.
"Then do it. Jarvis give Anna my regards." I said.
"I shall." Jarvis said.
"Jarvis take us home." Gramps said looking over at me.
"As you wish sir." Jarvis responded and they drove off.
I was getting really tired of walking plus what the hell was I going to do? Where was I even going? I needed to get back to Wren and I needed help, help from experts. I looked down and saw my pocket watch necklace.
"Heimdall open the bifrost!" I yelled. "Please!"
Three seconds later there was a bright light and I was in the Aesir.
"I have never been happier to see you." I said with a smile.
"You required assistance?" he asked.
"The time stone left me sixty four years in the past without any powers. I need to get back." I said.
"I'm not sure what there is we can do but if anyone knows what to do it would be the queen." Heimdall said.
"Queen? You mean Frigga. She's still here?" I said with a small smile.
"I wasn't aware she would have left anywhere." Heimdall said looking at me curiously.
"Uh no sorry, must have been a misstep on my part. Let's go get me sorted, shall we?" I said.
One horse ride later we were at the Palace Library. Frigga was in the middle of a lesson. And Thor was sitting in the corner looking bored. Frigga looked over and smiled when she saw us.
"I think that's enough for today." She said dismissing Thor and Loki. "Don't break anything today."
"We shall try." Thor said. "Let us go brothers, our friends are waiting."
Loki shot me a save me look and I gave him a shrug.
"Lady Nor-ah." She started but was interrupted by me hugging her. "Oh" She gave me a hug.
"Uh, sorry it's just good to see a friendly face after the day I've had." I said letting go.
"I see, what troubles you child?" She asked.
I told her about my entire day and we went into full on research mode. We read every book with a reference to the time stone or anything relating to time travel. There was nothing.
"What am I supposed to do? Aya can hold grudges like no other. There's no telling how long she'll keep me in the past." I said aggravated.
"She brought you back for a reason. Everyplace you end up was for a reason." Frigga said. "Where exactly did you end up?"
"I ended up in SHIELD headquarters but there is no way I'm going back there not with that rat working there." I said.
"I understand the circumstances may be difficult for you but I don't think you have another choice." Frigga said.
"There is always another choice. Maybe I can go back and visit Katya?" I said.
"That is not a wise choice. I have kept an eye on her and any connection she may have had to the stone is gone along with any memories of her time as a host." Heimdall said.
"I can't just show up, Amaya will probably throw a knife at my head and this time I can't put up a force field to block it." I said.
"Sometimes it's better to swallow one's pride and move past old grudges than ruin friendships." Heimdall says.
"Or in this case, keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Frigga said.
"Any chance I can stay here?" I said.
"You can't run away from your problems." Frigga said.
"I'll take that as a no." I said.
"You are always welcome here on Asgard but this is not the right time." She said.
"I'm not ready to face them." I said.
"Then don't go to them." Heimdall said. "You're supposed to be on Earth but you do need time to evaluate the situation and plan accordingly."
"So go back to Earth just not to SHIELD, I do need them to grovel a bit and absence does make the heart grow fonder." I said.
"Come now, I am sure you are hungry." She said.
After a short dinner with Thor telling stories of his victorious sparring matches Heimdall dropped me off back in New York. I was somewhere in the Greenwich Village. I looked over at the street sign and it said Bleeker Street. I don't think I ever made it this far away from Midtown.
I was walking down the street past some town houses when I saw someone sitting out in the front steps with the address number 177A marked on one of the stone pillars. The person was dressed in a yellow tunic with black pants. They were bald and were just sitting quietly. When they saw me they smiled.
"Beautiful night isn't it?" She asked.
"Yeah, the weather's still mild good for a walk." I said returning her smile.
"Especially when you're avoiding someone isn't it Nora?" She said.
"How did you know my name?" I said getting in a fighting stance.
"We have a mutual friend. Aya sends her regards." She answered.
"Aya as in…" I said.
"The time stone, one of the six infinity stones that predate the universe." She said. "She told me you'd be hard to convince."
"How do you know her?" I asked.
"I was her host." She said.
"What?" I said.
"Her first host, it was many years ago. We parted ways but she does stop by on occasion." She said.
"Did she complain about me?" I asked.
"She did at first, most of the conversation actually but it shows that she has grown attached to you." She said.
"She has a weird way of showing it." I said.
"In the time I've known Aya, she has never once shown an once of concern for any of her previous hosts. She's shown a lot more humanity since she met you." She said.
"Some how I doubt that." I said sitting down.
"Probably doesn't, in a couple centuries you might see the differences." She said.
"So were you waiting to tell me all of this?" I said.
"No, I'm here to extend an offer." She said.
"An offer?"
"You are stuck in the past until a time come when Aya deems you ready to return to your present day. You will need to train your body and your mind to your new situation. Come to Kamar Taj and train." She said.
"Kamar what?" I said.
"Kamar Taj, there is a monastery where I train pupils of the mystical arts to train their bodies and mind." She said.
"Mystical arts?" I asked. "Magic?"
"After everything you have lived through with Aya is it really that hard to believe?" She said.
"Guess not. Where is Kamar Taj exactly?" I asked. "I probably need to book a flight or I guess a boat not sure airlines go to all the destinations they do in 2014." I said.
"Nepal, but you don't have to worry about travel arrangements, you can't get to the monastery through traditional means." She said getting up. "Would you like to say goodbye to anyone or at the very least let them know where you are going?"
"Uh, I think I'll sent them a letter." I said.
"Well then follow me." She said opening the door.
"One thing though, if I'm going to follow you across the world can I get your name?" I asked.
"I haven't used my birth dame in centuries, I am known as the Ancient One." She said.
"Well nice to meet you Ancient One." I said.
"Shall we." She said opening the door.
"Always wanted to visit a monastery." I said stepping inside.
One Year Later-
I spent a year in Kamar Taj training with everyone else and when I wasn't doing that I was in the library reading up on anything I could find on the time stone. Just a bunch of spells I could use to amplify it's abilities and in certain cases how to control the jumps. The only problem, with doing that is that it was very short range. Maybe hours or a couple of days not years. One day I realized that hiding in Kamar Taj wasn't getting me anywhere and that it was time to go back.
"Are you ready?" The Ancient one asked.
"Not really but I had to go at some point." I said.
"I retrieved the items you requested." She said handing me my fake ID's I had stocked at a train station locker Peggy had set up for me.
"Thanks." I said.
"If you ever need to talk you know how to get back." She said.
"I know thank you." I said. With that she used a sling ring to open a portal to New York. She dropped me off in the Sanctum. I was still wearing my grey training tunic.
.
I was getting a lot of strange looks on the streets. I popped into the bank and used my fake ids to take out some money from the back accounts Gramps had set up for me. I was lucky that he had kept them open.
I walked into a dress shop and picked out a pink lace poofy dress that was the style for the current time. It reminded me a bit of the dress Jess wore to my wedding. I picked out some black heels and some gold hair pins to style my hair. I paid for everything and changed in the bathroom.
.
.
I got a cab and went to the Plaza. I figured that since Gramps was in charge of my bank accounts he had probably gotten alerted that I withdrew cash from the bank account. Considering it was Sunday, Gramps was going to need a hangover breakfast and The Plaza was his go to.
I was seated at a table. I asked for the morning paper and read while enjoying my coffee. About ten minutes after I sat down I got the feeling I was being watched. I guy sitting at my right was looking at me ever so often. The waiters were whispering and they kept looking in my direction.
Thirty minutes after I was seated someone sat down in the seat across from me.
"I got woken up by a phone call from the bank this morning. They said someone withdrew some money from my cousin's bank account this morning here in their Manhattan Branch." Gramps said making me smirk. "I said I don't have a cousin, until I remember that's what I listed you as."
"Needed a new dress, wouldn't have made it in with the tunic. Armistice negotiations begin in Korea, must have your hands full with that." I said.
"Hasn't been easy, Peggy has it handled would have happened sooner if you had been there to help. You did always have a knack for negotiating." He said.
"Was a bit out of reach dealing with some personal issues. Besides we didn't get news in the monastery unless we were directly affected didn't want any distractions," I said finally putting the newspaper down and finally looking at Gramps. "You look like crap."
"Missed you too." He said. "What now?"
"It's time to go to work." I said putting cash on the table and getting up.