Ellie Bishop: Glad the memory scenes were heartfelt, that was what I was going for. Yeah, as much as I dislike Civil War, it did expand on the father/daughter dynamic between Wanda and Clint when it could have easily been forgotten. Oh tell me about it; Clint and Scott are the MCU'S most underappreciated heroes.

Guest 2.0: Glad you enjoyed it. Honestly, part 4 and Kingdom Come Superman were the only goods of Crisis. Yeah, I'd say Nat learned the most as well.

Guest: I'll take that as a compliment.

Avengers Compound

Late morning

In the med-bay, Barry laid in a bed, out cold. Caitlin was checking his vitals as Oliver, now dressed in regular clothes, sat in a chair a few feet away from Barry's bed.

"He's normal, for him anyway. He's just exhausted," Caitlin said as she glanced over at Oliver. "Don't worry; he's stronger than you think."

"I know how strong he is," Oliver said, thinking of Barry letting Nora die.

It was silent as Caitlin eyed Oliver, wondering what he had seen in the Speed Force. It had clearly had an effect on him. But that was for him to work out, Caitlin mused as she turned back to Barry.

The room was silent, save for the hum of the machines Barry was hooked up to. The sound of footsteps alerted them to Nyssa's presence as she entered the room. She looked over at Barry's unconscious form before looking at Oliver.

"He will recover," Nyssa said and Oliver leaned back in his chair.

"I guess," he said, a pensive look on his face.

Nyssa looked at him concerned. Remembering her own experience in the Speed Force, she silently wondered what Oliver had seen that would have had such an effect on him. Nyssa was about to speak when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Oliver leaned forward as Barry shifted, opening his eyes.

"Hey," Barry said sleepily as he saw them. "What's up?"

The Phantom Zone

Same time

Zod stood in front of the gate of the Phantom Zone. It had been torment to be so close to his freedom but unable to access it. But now, the secret of how to open the gate had been revealed to him.

Zod turned around, coming face to face with every occupant of the Kryptonian prison. He had summoned them all here. For if he was going to carry out his plans, he knew he could not do so alone. He would need their help, as much as it pained him to admit it.

"My friends," Zod started. "Krypton cast us out. They feared us, because we were stronger than them. Our strengths, out passions, it frightened them. They feared what we do if they did not act. So they left us here, to rot, to suffer. But at long last, we shall have our revenge. In order to take it, we must only do one thing: destroy the Avengers."

Zod paused as all the Zoners cheered. Escape and revenge, he knew, had been a fantasy for many of them for many years. Which is why he knew they would accept what came next.

"The gate will only open with the blood of a Kryptonian. Enough that the Kryptonian will die from the loss of blood," Zod said suddenly.

Suddenly, one of his soldiers was grabbed from all sides by four other Kryptonians. The soldier, a young man who looked no older than twenty earth years, thrashed and fought as he was dragged towards the gate.

"No! No! General, please!" the soldier begged as he was laid upon the key.

"We all must make sacrifices," Zod said coldly as he pulled out a dagger and the soldier paled, realizing he would not survive this. "You will not die in vail. Of this you have my word."

Zod then stabbed the soldier in the abdomen. The soldier howled as Zod twisted the dagger, blood gushing out of the wound before a bright light enveloped them all.

New York

Moments later

It was a quiet day in New York. What would have once been a busy street was filled with just a few cars and a few people walking the sidewalk. Then, chaos.

Afterwards, the witnesses would describe something powerful slamming into the streets, simulating a small implosion and throwing everything back, people landing on their backs painfully. When they managed to pick themselves up, they saw several people standing in front of a crater. In the blink of an eye, Zod had sped over to a random bystander, grabbing them by the neck and lifting them up to the air.

"Where can I find The Avengers?" Zod demanded.

Avengers Compound

Same time

"Everything seems to be normal," Caitlin said after checking over Barry. "But I would recommend some rest."

"Not sure I have that option," Barry said as he put on a shirt. "What's happening with the stones?"

"Cisco, Harry, Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark are trying to use Mr. Stark's nanotech to create another gauntlet. Cisco had to practically be dragged away from your bedside," Caitlin noted and Barry chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll feel a whole lot better once we bring everyone back," Barry said as he looked over at Caitlin. "Have you thought about what you're gonna do once this is over?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Caitlin admitted. "This whole thing, making peace with Killer Frost, surviving Thanos...it's changed me. I'm not the same woman I was."

"I know what you mean," Barry said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I guess you would," Caitlin noted. "All that time in the Speed Force…I can tell, you're different now."

"I guess we're both different people now than who we were before all this," Barry mused.

"I guess we are," Caitlin agreed with a smile.

Outside the med-bay, Oliver watched this, a thoughtful look on his face. Looking over at his side, he saw Nyssa, who appeared to be a thousand miles away.

"Hey," Oliver said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yes. Simply thinking," Nyssa said and it didn't take Oliver long to put it together.

There were only three things that could put Nyssa in that kind of state. Sara was out of the question, it was unlikely Talia, which left one thing.

"You saw him, didn't you? Your father," Oliver said and she nodded.

"He was…different than the man you killed," Nyssa mused after moment. "He called me his most precious treasure. He allowed us to take the stone without a fight. But still…nothing has changed."

Oliver nodded, knowing what she meant. She was still here. Which meant that, stone or no stone, Ra's has still been driven insane by the pit. But still-

"He loved you," Oliver said and Nyssa looked over at him. "He may have become a monster, but he loved you once. Nothing can take that away from you."

"Perhaps," Nyssa agreed as she looked over at him, her eyes softening. "But I have spent my entire life defining myself by my father. He can take nothing else from me."

Elsewhere in the Compound, Steve walked around, feeling anxious as they all waited for the gauntlet to be completed. He found himself walking at the edge of the Compound, where he found Natasha staring out the window.

"Nat?" Steve called out and she looked over at him. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," Natasha sad as he made his way over. "We all saw some things in the Speed Force."

"Yeah," Steve said, remembering witnessing Barry get advice from who he had learned was Barry's adoptive father. "It was…enlightening."

"From what I saw, Barry and I have something in common," Natasha said, breaking Steve out of his thoughts. "We both keep people at arm's length. We prevent ourselves from having meaningful relationships. It's a pattern; one designed to prevent us from getting hurt."

"Nat?" Steve said in confusion as she looked over at him.

"I love you Steve," Natasha said and Steve stiffened in shock. "Not like I love Clint, but like he and Laura love each other. But I could never find the courage to tell you. Because how could someone like you ever love me? It was…easier I guess to just be your friend."

"Nat…" Steve was at a loss for words and she smiled.

"You don't have to say anything. I just needed to tell you. I'm not going to avoid meaningful relationships anymore. Even if you don't feel that way about me, I needed to know I said it, that you heard me," Natasha said as Steve got his thoughts in order.

"Right now, I can only think about bringing everyone else back," Steve said and she nodded in understanding. "But, after that…maybe we can go out for a cup of coffee and talk about this."

"It's a date," Natasha said, not expecting anything, but appreciating Steve's olive branch.

Back outside the med-bay, Oliver and Nyssa watched as Barry and Caitlin walked out.

"You okay?" Oliver asked Barry and he nodded.

"I'll be taking a long vacation after this is over but I'll live," Barry said and Oliver nodded an odd look on his face that Barry picked up on. "Everything okay?"

"Nyssa, Caitlin, can I talk to Barry alone for a minute?" Oliver asked randomly.

The two women looked confused but, sensing that Oliver was serious, silently left the pair alone, although ith worried glances.

"Everything okay?" Barry asked once they were alone.

"I think I owe you an apology," Oliver said, confusing Barry. "I always thought you had it easy. That everything was sunshine and rainbows, everyone likes you. I guess I never really thought about what you had lost, what you've been through. You have real steel in you my friend."

"Coming from you, that means everything. I hope you remember that when everything is said and done," Barry said, making Oliver narrow his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver asked and Barry was silent for a moment.

"Before the Speed Force sent me back here to bring us all together, it showed me the future. Every possible version of how this could go," Barry explained as Oliver listened. "And even if this goes exactly the way it should, this is the end. This will be the last time you, me, Cisco, Caitlin, and Roy are all together."

"I don't understand," Oliver said in confusion and Barry smiled.

"You will," Barry said as he put a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "It's my burden to bear, not yours. Now let's go get our families back."

Although confused, Oliver followed Barry down the hall. As they rounded the corner, they nearly ran smack dab into Clint.

"Sorry," Barry said as they all stopped themselves.

"It's okay. I was actually looking for you," Clint told Barry, to his surprise as he looked over at Oliver." Can I talk to Barry alone?"

Oliver looked over at Barry, who shrugged but nodded. Oliver looked over at Clint wearily, not sure what was up, before leaving the two alone.

"What's going on?" Barry asked once they were alone.

"When I was in the Speed Force, I saw something, a memory of yours," Barry raised an eyebrow as Clint spoke. "I saw you and Wanda by a lake. You two were talking about what your weaknesses were."

"You saw that huh? That would have been about twenty years after I went into the Speed Force," Barry said as he did the math, knowing that was not what Clint wanted.

"You two were together," Clint said and Barry didn't deny it. "Was she happy?"

"It was hard sometimes," Barry said after a moment. "Being trapped in there for so long, if we didn't have each other, we might have gone insane. She missed you and the other Avengers and I missed my friends and family. There were days where we fought and wanted nothing to do with each other. But we had each other. It was a good life, even if we were a little lonely sometimes."

"Do you love her?" Clint asked and Barry smiled.

"What I feel for her is…beyond definition," Barry said, the irony that he had used these words for Iris once not lost on him. "I've been in love before but there's just no comparison to how I feel about her. I love her more than I ever thought I was capable of loving someone."

Clint nodded silently, digesting this. It was…a lot to take in. But it was clear that Barry loved Wanda more than words could describe. It lifted a great weight off Clint's chest.

"I'm actually glad you saw that. There's something I've been wanting to ask you," Barry said, breaking Clint out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Clint raised an eyebrow at Barry.

"I know that Wanda looks up to you as a sort of father figure. And you seem to think of her as a second daughter. I consider Wanda my wife in every way but one," Barry said as Clint caught on to where this was going. "I would really like your blessing to ask her to marry me."

"Well, here's a situation I didn't think I'd be in for a few more years," Clint muttered. "Look, from what I've seen and heard, you seem like a good man. As long as you treat Wanda right, treat her the way she deserves, you'll be okay in my book. So yes, you have my blessing. Now let's go get our girl back."

In the workshop, Tony, Cisco, Harry and Bruce were hard at work. Between Tony and Cisco's engineering skills, they had managed to create a Nanotech-Gauntlet in record time. It now stood behind a protective glass as Tony used his nanotech to remotely control six robotic arms. The four watched with baited breath as the arms placed the six stones onto the gauntlet.

"Kind of expected it to blow up," Cisco admitted after a moment.

"Don't relax yet Ramon. That was the easy part," Harry said darkly.

Later, after the Gauntlet had been moved onto a table, everyone was called into the workshop. Everyone was silent as they stared down at the gauntlet.

"Well, I suppose now the only question is who's going to put it on," Slade broke the silence.

"Hulk and Banner do it," Bruce said in Hulk's voice before switching back to his own. "The radiation coming off the stones, it's mostly gamma. Hulk and I might be able to survive a snap."

"That's a very big 'if' Bruce," Natasha pointed out.

"Bruce, this thing is powered up with enough energy to light up a continent. Let's not rush into anything just yet," Tony reasoned.

"The stones are an extension of the Speed Force," Jay said as everyone looked over at him. "It's possible that a Speedster would be able to survive the process."

"Even if that's true, you're not as young as you used to be Garrick. And it might kill you or Allen anyway," Harry pointed out.

"It has to be me."

Everyone turned their head towards Thor, who was eying the Gauntlet with grim determination.

"You saw what happened to Thanos after he used the stones, it nearly killed him. None of you would be able to survive," Thor said matter of factly as he walked towards the Gauntlet.

"And how do we know you will?" Roy asked wearily.

"We don't," Thor acknowledged. "But I'm the one least likely to die out of everyone here."

And the original Avengers could see it in his eyes, the steely determination that had been absent since Thanos. Thor would not be dissuaded. Many attempts to talk Thor down had taught them this lesson.

"Okay. Let's do it," Steve agreed after a moment.

"Remember, everyone Thanos snapped away, you're just bringing them back to today. Don't change anything else that's happened since," Tony told Thor.

"Tony's right. Just put things back the way they were. That's all the Speed Force wants us to do," Barry warned.

Thor understood their concerns. A few years ago, Thor would have brushed their concerns off and done what he wanted, throwing things even more out of balance. But he was a very different man now, humbled by loss and defeat. A man who knew the consequences of playing with forces more powerful than himself.

"Then let us do its bidding," Thor said simply.

And then, everyone backed away. Slade dawned his helmet as Steve raised his shield. Caitlin closed her eyes, her hair turning an icy blonde as her skin paled. Rhodey and Scott put on their helmets as well while Barry, Bruce and Jay made Oliver, Nyssa, Roy, Cisco and Harry back away, standing in front of them protectively as Tony dawned his armor, creating an energy shield that he placed in front of Clint and Natasha protectively.

"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate BARNDOOR Protocol, would you?" Tony said.

"Yes Boss," FRIDAY said as the windows, doors and skylights were all closed with metal shielding.

"Everyone comes home," Bruce muttered as Thor picked up the Gauntlet.

Thor took a deep breath before placing his hand inside, putting it on. Immediately, the energy of the stones surged through him. Thor grunted in pain, falling to one knee. It was a lot more difficult than he had imagined. But he could not give up.

"Thor, you okay?" Steve asked in concern.

"Talk to me Point Break," Tony called out.

"I-I'm fine," Thor grunted, trying not to cry out, the pain unimaginable as he felt the energy eating through his skin. "I can do this. I…am…the god of…Thunder!"

With a roar, Thor snapped his fingers and the world went white.

Thor was then somehow in a world with an orange sky. Thor looked down, the Gauntlet gone and his arm perfectly healed, as though he had never picked up the Gauntlet. Thor looked around, seeing an archway. Someone was standing in front of it. As he realized who it was, Thor's eyes widened in shock.

"Loki?"

"Brother," Loki greeted calmly.

"I-I don't understand. How are you here?" Thor asked as he made his way over to Loki.

"Does it matter?" Loki asked.

"I guess not," Thor said after a moment. "I'm sorry. I failed you. I couldn't protect you."

"You didn't fail me brother. My death was not your fault. It was my own, due to my own poor decisions," Loki said certainly. "Dying is the easy part. The dead are at peace. The real heroes are the ones who have to keep going. So keep going. Be the hero and king our people deserve."

Then Thor was back in the present, howling at the pain he felt in his arm. Yanking the Gauntlet off, he threw it across the room and fell to his knees as everyone rushed to his side. Thor looked down at his arm, seeing how dead and charred it looked before Frost froze his arm.

"Did it work?" Thor asked breathlessly.

"We're not sure yet," Steve said.

As the metal doors bean opening, Scott heard something. As he wondered off, Clint heard a buzzing sound. Clint turned towards the table walked over. Laura's face was on his phone as Cisco felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, Cisco saw Joe's face flash across the screen.

"H-honey?" Clint said in a choked voice as he answered. "Honey."

"Joe?" Cisco said breathlessly as he answered his own phone.

"Cisco, what happened? Where are you? What happened to the lightening?" Joe demand.

"Guys, I think it worked," Scott said as he stared at two birds chirping outside.

Barry looked up at the skylight, knowing what was coming next.

Above the Compound, Zod stared down at it as he hovered in the sky. With a smirk, his eyes flashed red before several orange beams sot out of his eyes. Upon making contact with the Compound, there were several explosions as the Compound completely fell apart, seemingly burying the heroes.

Probably not my best work but I do hope you guys enjoyed it.

Out of all the non-canon MCU ships, Steve/Nat is probably my favorite and I would have loved to see their relationship develop into more. But that's what fanfiction is for.

Thor doing the snap might make it seem too much like my story Crisis on two earths, but there really wasn't any other way without Professor Hulk. And, quite frankly, Thor doing it just works so much better for so many reasons.

Since I didn't want to do another Frigga scene, I thought Thor seeing Loki in the Soul Realm would be the next best thing. Hope I did okay there.