Chapter 16 - Game Over, Restart?

"What the hell do you mean, a bigger threat is coming?" Clint screeched, ready to jump right into action. Bucky grit his teeth, his hands tightening into fists. There weren't many of them left to defend Earth. Loki sighed deeply. How was it best to describe what was coming?

"Thanos was from Titan. A world that had been destroyed by greed and population. He believed to save the universe that he had to kill half of it. While along the way, Thanos had run ins with the Goddess Death. So, he began to court her, killing half a planet's population as he passed through as if that would gain her favor," Loki described. Clint and Bucky traded looks for a moment. What did that have to do with a bigger threat coming? "But, Titan was just another world. He was simply another alien."

"So, there are stronger aliens," Clint grumbled, understanding dawning on him first. Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, unsure what to think of all this. God did he wish it was possible to simply go back and have his life seriously end after falling from the train. Loki nodded.

"Many," he informed. "After learning of Thanos's actions, many of those stronger aliens came to Midgard in order to find and kill him. I escaped my dimension in order to find somewhere safe. But, each dimension that was similar to our own, failed. Over and over. Once Thanos gains a foothold over Midgard and wins the Infinity Stones, it is over."

"Well, that means they're already on their way. How long do we have?" Bucky wondered. Clint shivered. Loki sighed.

"You will not win," he announced. Clint and Bucky raised their eyes in surprise. "You need more of your heroes who have died to return."

"You want us to bring our friends back to life? We can't," Clint said as if it was obvious. Loki huffed.

"No. We need to change this world," the trickster stated.

"What do you mean, change it?" Bucky inquired.

"We go back in time with a spell of mine that will replace our current selves with our past selves," Loki replied, deciding to go with the easier route of explaining it. He'd never been questioned on it before and he doubted it'd happen now.

"Wouldn't that just make another timeline or dimension?" Clint huffed. Loki snorted, mostly to cover his surprise of being challenged, and shook his head no. "Uh. We'd be changing things back then, wouldn't we?"

"I have visited those who could see the dimensions' future. They, like myself, are worried that those coming would endanger more creatures than those of Thanos's actions." Bucky couldn't stop his shiver of fear. Vanishing in the SNAP wasn't anything like anyone had actually described to those who had been left. Or, at least Bucky's experience with it was.

"So, what would make this so different?" Bucky retorted. Loki glanced to him. He honestly hadn't been prepared to explain what the spell does.

"The spell I will be doing does not technically bring us back in time so much as it brings those events here," Loki explained as if that was the answer they were looking for. Clint and Bucky traded looks.

"That makes no sense," Clint grumbled. Loki sighed. Best to go with how it was explained to him. Even if he still had an issue comprehending it.

"In normal time travel, there is a straight line. If we travel from Point A, in 2025, to Point B, 2012, then a circuit would appear," Loki informed. Bucky frowned.

"Like what happened when Clint was sent back with the Time Stone. He traveled back and needed to make sure events happened like how they were supposed to. That's why this timeline stayed the same, cause it was his past but my future," Bucky retorted. Loki nodded.

"That is normal time travel."

"So, how would this spell be different?" Clint mumbled.

"We would be bringing 2012 to 2025 rather than 2025 going to 2012," Loki answered. Clint frowned, still trying to make sense of what Loki was saying. Loki sighed. "Traveling back in time like using the Time stone means that your future self from this moment becomes your past self. The spell I am doing makes it that your past self becomes your future."

"Wait... So, if we do this version of time travel and stop Thanos before he gains any of the other stones, from either set, that should mean that us standing here never happened. Right?" Clint pondered, confused. Loki's face looked a little pained at that.

"The way that the Seer explained the spell to me was that in history for the three of us, Thanos still gathered the stones. When the spell is cast, 2012 will be brought here, to 2025, specifically this moment. So Thanos happened but this future 2012 has not," Loki retorted. Bucky made a face at that. It seemed like it was basically a restart with only the three of them remembering what happened.

"What if certain events were supposed to happen? Like, Clint going back to keep me and the Commandos safe?" Bucky questioned. Clint hummed, having not thought of that. Loki sighed.

"It happened already."

"But-" Clint started. Loki shook his head.

"The 2012 that my spell will bring us too has already had the secondary Time stone send you back to 1943. If we do it again after the spell, there will now be two Clint Bartons in 1943." Clint made a face at that. This wasn't how any time travel he had ever heard of happened. Unless, it was like Back to the Future 2. Marty saw what his future was going to be. That was his future. But, when he returned to his original timeline, he could change it and create a new future for those in that timeline. Right?

"This is too confusing," Clint mumbled under his breath, grabbing his head. Loki chuckled as even Bucky made an agreeable face.

"I do not fully understand the explanation either. But, there was one dimension that I used both methods of time travel. We were once again failing to stop Thanos, so I gathered a Time Stone and went back to when I first cast the spell thinking I could just replace my old self there. I nearly broke time as that moment had already been weakened due to my first arrival." Clint shook his head once again before a thought came to him.

"Uh. How many times have you done this?" Clint asked.

"I am uncertain as many of the events tend to be so similar I can not tell if it was one timeline or two in which something happened. The only things I can truly count on is the knowledge of the danger and who I have tried this with. Nothing like knowing exactly what words to say or even to say if a certain battle had to go one way or another. The same will happen with you both when the spell is cast. Those events happened to you so long ago that you will not remember every detail," Loki informed. Clint sighed deeply.

"Okay, well... This is all well and good, but what happens to our friends here? To everyone not included in the spell?" Bucky inquired. Loki raised an eyebrow before scrunching his face up a bit in thought. No one had ever thought to question him of that before. He quickly sent out his magic to figure out what happened with the other heroes of this time period. Clint bristled, feeling the magic run over him. After a moment, Loki grimaced and looked to them.

"I apologize for your loss." Bucky and Clint froze. They couldn't have heard what they thought they heard. Could they? "Hydra has captured them and in an attempt to gain all of them as... 'Assets.' They destroyed their minds. It is only the serum that kept you both alive when in the device."

"Holy shit," Clint whispered before dropping down into the nearest seat. Bucky stumbled back a bit into the conference table that sat in the middle of the room. "You serious?"

"I apologize for the distressing news," Loki confirmed. Neither one of them had expected anything like that to happen. Hydra could have easily used their friends to keep them under control until they fully erased Clint and himself. But... If it was Rumlow in charge, the man never had been all that patient.

"FUCK!" Bucky shouted, spinning around and slamming his metal fist into the table. If the table wasn't part Vibranium, it would have cracked at the force that Bucky used. Clint flinched, looking over to the man. After everything they had gone through. It was just them. Suddenly, Bucky sagged down, sliding down to his knees while leaving his arms up on the edge of the table. "If we go back... They'll be fine, right?"

"In a sense. We will have to recreate their arrival," Loki stated. Bucky and Clint winced thinking over everyone's histories. "I am assuming this is a problem?"

"When would you be sending us back to?" Clint questioned. Tony became Iron Man 2010. Bruce became Hulk in 2011. Thor met Jane in 2011. Bucky wasn't found until 2014 and Sam became Falcon in that same event. Scott and Hope was 2015 if Clint remembered correctly. Along with Wanda and Pietro being found. Peter Parker and Stephen Strange were both 2016 or 17. And T'Challa was 2017. Out of everyone though, Clint believed Sam was the only one who needed intervention to become Falcon.

"I was thinking a week before I am sent to Midgard via the Tesseract." Clint grimaced and looked to Bucky. If they needed Sam to make an appearance, that meant two years of Bucky being under Hydra's control and run ins with the Chair. Bucky paled, having the same thought and really not liking that idea. Loki looked between the two with a frown. "I assume there is an issue."

"For... Well, Falcon to join the Avengers. I... I was still under Hydra's control. I nearly killed Stevie," Bucky told the Lie-smith. Loki sighed.

"I think, if we don't interfere with anyone else, they all get their suits or abilities naturally. Sam would need the push," Clint added. Bucky nodded and Loki made a face as he thought about it.

"That won't do."

"It'd be hard to meet him before that too. Steve met him after he moved to DC and ran past him like fifteen times before Sam gave up and tried to rest rather than try and keep up," Clint described having heard the story once or twice. Bucky nodded, remembering Sam telling him the story to pass time while Steve, Sam and himself were driving to Germany to meet up with Clint and the others.

"We can wait a few years before we do anything. It is simply imperative that we get the Avengers working together and stop Thanos before he comes to Midgard," Loki concluded. Clint nodded, already trying to mentally come up with a plan. He snagged his phone out of his pocket and started messing with it, partly paying attention to that and what was being planned around him.

"Do you know anyone outside of Thanos that can safely use the Gauntlet?" Bucky wondered, thinking of just making the Infinity Gauntlet early. They knew where the stones were in certain time periods so it'd make sense. It would just need someone strong enough to use it. Loki raised an eyebrow.

"I am unsure. But, when we go back, I can speak with... Frigga and Odin," Loki declared. Clint grimaced, a small noise came out as well. Loki and Bucky turned to him. "Do you have an issue?"

"If we show up during Sam's 'beginning,'" Clint started. He paused, glancing at Loki. "I think Frigga is already dead."

Loki's face went pale and stiff as the memory of feeling Frigga's magic vanish came to him. Of Thor coming and letting him know of their mother's death. Of the thunderer asking if Loki would like to avenge her. He swallowed harshly. It always bothered him when he went to a dimension where his adopted family was dead before he traveled back. "I see."

"How long do we have to beat Thanos?" Clint questioned,.

"Any time before he gets all the Infinity Stones and makes the SNAP. It is nothing as simple as hiding them away though. We need to kill Thanos," Loki replied. Clint huffed.

"It took Tony to do that," the archer grumbled.

"I am aware," Loki agreed. Bucky looked down to the ground as he remembered the battle and aftermath of destroying Thanos. Clint sighed even as Loki gave them an understanding smile. "But it is of no matter. We will have more helping us as we can stop other things from happening as well. Such as, Odin and Frigga never passing. Hela never getting released, your 'hero war' never happening." At the mention of the 'Civil War,' both Bucky and Clint winced. "As long as all heroes stand together, there should be a way to defeat Thanos without using the stones and Gauntlet. But it will be nice to have that as a back up."

"Okay. So... When should we go back?" Bucky inquired. Loki frowned thinking about it.

"If we go before Sam then the Avengers would already be around," Clint quickly stated.

"Frigga passes in 2013. But I will be imprisoned and unable to do anything. Odin would certainly not listen to either of you to defend my case and Thor would be busy defending the Nine Realms," Loki listed. Bucky winced.

"That means about a year of me with Hydra," he told them. Loki nodded. It was true. "Go back to 2012. I'm with Hydra, I know, you two are going to be dealing with the Tesseract and S.H.I.E.L.D and creating the Avengers. We'll all meet back up in 2014?"

Loki frowned. He didn't like the idea of leaving Bucky in Hydra's hands. Especially knowing what the Chair was supposed to do to the man. He doubted his magic would be able to withstand two years of protection without him recasting at least once. Bucky was as pivotal as Clint and himself. "That will not work. We need Sergeant Barnes to help persuade the others of our goal. Mentioning to S.H.I.E.L.D that I gained control over Agent Barton could lead to the two of us being locked up and unable to do anything. And not mentioning that incident will cause fractions later down the line which could dissolved all of the work we put through."

"But, to get Bucky early means we'll lose Sam," Clint countered. Loki nodded.

"I am aware. We will have to speak to the Falcon after regaining Sergeant Barnes."

"Sam's a counselor for veterans. I could always request to work with him to 'fully get my head on straight,'" Bucky suggested. "He's a huge fan of Cap so if we tell Stevie about Sam's abilities to help, I bet Stevie would talk to him about it."

"Could be worth a shot," Clint replied, looking to Loki as if the trickster had already gone through this. While he had indeed gone back to try and fix things in 2012, it had always just been him. And hardly anyone trusted him until Thor returned, years down the line. Odin had apparently only cared about Loki's appearance when the Tesseract had gotten involved. Loki sighed but nodded. Clint frowned, focusing on Loki's body language. The trickster looked worried. "What will happen if we fail?"

"You will die."

"What do you mean, 'you will die?' What about you?" Clint called, getting to his feet, ready to... To do something. Loki sighed once again.

"The spell I use to travel dimensions can easily bring up to three people, but I would need at least two days to prepare and it would need to be used right after being prepared. To use it on just one person, I can do it on the spot. I have been using it in mid battle when I see that the plan failed."

"You'd ditch us?" Bucky summarized. Loki huffed but nodded his head. In essence, he would be and had numerous times. While Loki was going onto a new dimension to fix things, the ones he left behind had to finish their lives out with the bigger threat looming ahead and no clear way to stop it. Many of them may have survived the incident while most of them certainly wouldn't. But Loki never stayed long enough to find out.

"Can't we repeat the spell your gonna do to send us back if we get it wrong?" Clint wondered. Loki shook his head.

"Doing the spell even once can cause unknown incidents that hardly affect our lives but likely the lives of others, somewhere. The more times I do it in one dimension, the more... Cracks, in time can appear until finally time shatters and there is no coming back. It is why I nearly broke time in a dimension when I attempted to travel back a second time with the stone," Loki answered. Clint winced. "My question to you both now. Can we go back and fix all of this?"

Clint and Bucky looked to each other. There was a lot of things that needed to happen in just the right way for it all to work out. But it was possible. Bucky could only pray that Clint and Loki would be able to get him away from Hydra before they found out about...

"Is there anything you can do to get non-magical mind control out of someone?" Clint and Loki both turned to the Sergeant.

"Yes. Why? I was led to believe that the witchling had fixed your mind."

"Well," Bucky started before looking to Clint. The archer gave him a sad smile before looking over to Loki, making the trickster to make a face at them before walking over to Clint. He lifted his hand to hold over Clint's forehead. Tensing briefly, Clint mentally chanted the spell to stop from draining Loki as a just in case he had lost focus earlier. He hadn't noticed, but it never would hurt to double cast it.

"I see," Loki mumbled, backing away. Clint gave the trickster a quizzical look but before he could ask, Loki whispered out a spell and Clint dropped to the jet, crying out in pain. Bucky shouted and shifted forward before stopping and hoping that Loki was trying to fix the conditioning. A minute after Clint fell to the floor, Loki stopped whatever he was doing and the archer just laid, curled up on the floor. Bucky winced and rushed forward, dropping to his knees to check on Clint.

"Clint? Buddy," Bucky grumbled to the archer in a worried tone.

"He should be merely resting," Loki announced seconds before the jet dinged out a warning that they were almost at their destination. Bucky looked up at the controls before cursing. With a quick glance back at Clint, the sniper got up and headed over to the controls. He quickly sent in new orders to land closer to Mexico than the actual Red Worm base. Once he confirmed that the jet would go to the new area, Bucky turned to Loki.

"How are we going to do this? I know you said you'd arrive a week before you came to Earth, but when is that?"

"I believe the date was May 1st that I arrived, so April 24th or so," Loki informed. Bucky nodded and tried hard to think back. April 17th he had just been unfrozen for a mission. He would have four days of training and tests to make sure he would be ready for the mission and then he'd be sent out. That meant it wouldn't be likely for him to escape until 21st. He'd be refrozen on the 25th after a successful mission and unfrozen again in the early morning of May 3rd.

"I'll be on a mission on that date. If I don't get away from Hydra by the 25th, I'll be put into cryo. I won't unfreeze till the 3rd and I have no idea what facility I'm kept in around that time. And there is no way I can get that information. Hydra destroyed a lot of their files about the Winter Soldier and most of the information about me were written in red notebooks," Bucky told the Lie-smith. Loki nodded.

"I will see what I can do."

"Rumlow," Clint voice grunted from the floor. They both looked down to see the archer struggling to wake himself and get up. Bucky's eyes widened and he moved closer to Clint, hardly paying attention to what the archer has said.

"Lay back down," he ordered without thinking about it but Clint continued trying to get up. Loki smirked, figuring the word 'rumlow' wasn't all that important at the moment and if it was, it could be brought up again. "Clint."

"I'm fi... Holy shit," Clint cried, his gaze snapping up to Loki. "You did it!"

"I did. You will no longer be controlled by those words if one should state them again. And I am certain the witchling did a good job with you as well," Loki stated, turning to look at Bucky as he said so. "But, if you both wish, I can cast a spell on you that will make it so Hydra can never put in commands."

"Won't I drain it if I lose concentration?" Clint asked, getting to his feet with Bucky's help. Loki shook his head.

"It is a permanent spell once I cast it," Loki replied. Clint smirked and nodded. He wanted it. Too many people had messed with his head and he wasn't going to leave himself open to it in the future if it could be prevented now. Seeing Clint agree, Bucky sighed before nodding as well. Loki smiled and whispered something again and the snipers felt something settle over their minds. Almost like a head piece. It took a second but they began to feel the effect fade. "Don't worry. The spell is still there it has just settled upon your minds."

"Thanks," Clint exhaled, relaxing. "So, what time are we going back to?"

"We seem to be agreeing upon April 24th," Loki answered. Clint frowned as he tried hard to remember what he was doing on that date.

"I think I was already at the P.E.G.A.S.U.S base," he mumbled to himself. Loki raised an eyebrow as Bucky mouthed 'Pegasus.' Clint looked to them. "Oh, sorry. That's the project name of when we were messing with the Tesseract. I can't remember the real name of the base at the moment."

"Ah," the trickster said. "So, April 24th is the chosen date?"

"Sounds like it," Bucky agreed after glancing at Clint. The archer nodded. Didn't sound like there would be any issue with that date.

"Now, we must be going," Loki stated, ignoring what Clint had been stating before about Rumlow. The trickster could only assume it was something that could wait until the actual moment to learn about. Clint quickly snatched up his phone, looking at it. By what he had learned of time travel before, he should be able to keep everything he was currently wearing when they went back. Having this would be good.

"I thought we had time," Bucky announced. Loki nodded.

"We do. But there is little to prepare or plan before. Once the spell is cast and we use our knowledge to change events, nearly everything that shall pass after April 24th will become as new to us as it will be to everyone else." Clint traded a look with Bucky before he nodded. Bucky smirked. It was as good a plan as any. They both looked back to Loki and Clint smiled.

"Then lets go."

"That can be harmful," Fury's voice echoed into Clint's ear as he tried to center himself on what was going on. Loki had just cast his spell to send them... "Agent Barton, report."

"Shit," Clint whispered, looking around. Fury hadn't visited Pegasus base until the day the Tesseract began acting up. And it was easy to see the stone was acting up. Below, Selvig and the other scientists were frantically scrambling about, trying to stop what was happening. The Tesseract pulsed away, uncaring. Clint grimaced. Loki was off in his planning. Ignoring that, he jumped to his feet and quickly headed down to meet up with Fury.

"I gave you this detail-"

"I know sir. But, I have to say something right now," Clint interrupted, desperate to get out as much information as possible before Loki arrived. He wished Loki, Bucky and him had taken time to plan out what to do if Loki's timing was off. They had all just assumed that the trickster would be able to send them to April 24th and not May 1st. Fury raised his injured eyebrow at the archer even as Clint continued speaking. "The Tesseract is a portal to another area in space and right now an Asgardian is opening a portal from the other side. His name is Loki and he has some information we need to hear."

Without really focusing on Fury, Clint began walking toward the platform in preparation for Loki to appear. Thankfully, Fury followed, confused and pissed off. Clint hardly noticed, his mind racing of what would have changed with this new time line. Bucky said he was frozen again at this point and Clint never did find out when the Sergeant would be unfrozen. But he'd be able to 'speak' with Rumlow about it.

"Where is this coming from?" Fury demanded as the Tesseract began pulsing it's energy. Clint bit the bottom of his lip, suddenly aware of what this looked like. If he had this information even a day earlier, things would be different. But there was just no time. Loki was going to arrive.

"I'll explain once Loki gets here. Right now, you just have to trust me," Clint nearly begged. "Get everyone out, forget the stuff, just get everyone out!"

Fury frowned but called out Clint's order over the comms seconds before the energy reached max and blew out the portal to drop Loki down on the platform. As the trace energy began to settle around the room and head to the ceiling, Clint rushed forward to help Loki. The trickster winced, slowly looking up as he tried to discover what was happening. He had known that he would have been with Thanos and the Chitauri at this point but had not known what torture he would be appearing in. But, he certainly hadn't been prepared to appear in mid-spell for something else.

"Got a bit off there," Clint muttered. Loki huffed and rolled his eyes, tired from the strain of figuring out what was happening. Muscle and memory reflex had taken over so that there had been no magical backlash of him messing up the spell in arriving. Having been casting the spell to bring 2012 to 2025 as explained before and casting the spell that brought him from Thanos to Midgard, Loki had to take a moment to recover.

"Barton!" Fury called from behind the archer. Clint glanced over to see numerous agents aiming weapons at them. He half remembered seeing this before when he had stood at Fury's side. Seeing it now was something that worried him a bit. Beside him, Loki grunted and moved to stand up. Clint shifted, helping the trickster to his feet when he realized that Loki was having a hard time. Once on their feet, Clint looked back to Fury.

"Director Fury, this is Loki, Prince of Asgard," Clint introduced as if there weren't weapons aimed at them. Loki rolled his eyes at the statement of 'Prince of Asgard' but figured it was a safer term to use other than Loki the adopted son of Odin.

"Nice to know. Is it possible to put down the spear?" Fury wondered. Clint frowned before realizing what Fury was asking him to do. Both Loki and he looked down at the Scepter. Swallowing, Loki's gaze shifted back to those standing before them.

"I mean you know harm," Loki announced, handing the Scepter over to Clint. The archer winced at the sight of it but took it and placed it on the platform beside him and gently kicked it away so that neither of them would easily be able to reach it before the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents attacked. At the sight, Fury seemed to relax just minorly. Clint glanced over to the nearest agent and nodded his head down at the spear. The agent frowned before realizing that Clint wanted him to take it. Carefully, he walked over to grab it. "I am willing to be taken hostage if you wish. I just beg you hear what I have to say."

"What we have to say," Clint stressed, his eyes flicking to Loki for a moment before focusing on Fury. Loki huffed but did not argue. There was no point. This was supposed to have been Clint dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D while he escaped Thanos and went to Odin and Frigga. There was no plan for anything like this.

"You are Thor's brother?" Selvig asked interrupting whatever someone was going to say next. All attention shifted to the scientist. Loki hissed out a breath before sharply nodding.

"To a certain degree. We were raised together and yet, I have discovered that I was adopted into the royal family. Asgard still views me as a Prince," Loki clarified. Clint nearly face-palmed. If Loki had just kept up with the knowledge of him being a relative (adopted or not) of Thor, then the Council would have to listen to him. But, now the Council could easily argue that Loki was actually not of royal blood and so he needn't be treated as such. "But, might I suggest we get moving. I do believe the collapse of all this rubble shall happen in a few minutes."

"He's right!" Selvig called after quickly checking over his data. The other scientists in the room moved faster in an attempt to collect everything. Fury growled to himself, looking between Selvig and Clint and Loki. "We have only five minutes until the whole place collapses!"

"We need to move," Clint stressed when none of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents moved. Fury focused on Clint and the archer knew that Fury was not liking this plan at all. But, Clint could handle some skepticism. Just as long as they all survived. "Sir."

"Agent Barton, you will keep watch over... The Prince. If he betrays us, it is on you," Fury snapped. Clint nodded his head, mentally thanking the fact that Loki wasn't on Thanos's side and that he was here to help. Loki looked to Clint before nodding. First step done. Now they needed to get out before the collapse.

And that brings us to the end of this chapter. My next story will actually be the beginning of a new series so I'm gonna have to spend the first bit explaining a lot of what happened in this series for those that didn't read it. But yeah. Next week! New Series Start!

Darius is good. Still acting out but I'm in a bit more control over myself so it isn't too bad. But, last night I nearly didn't get enough sleep cause all I could think about was all the things I need to do around the house. I miss daycare. And school. Made it so much easier to clean up on those days. Also, Darius wasn't as spoiled as he is now cause he was made to share toys there where as here, everything is technically his and a lot isn't all that good for Baby Jason to currently play with. Baby Jason got his first haircut yesterday. Apparently he did good but when I first saw him afterwards, I thought he looked very effeminate. And Baby Aurora could seemingly care less about what is going on around her.