Chapter Six: Don't Bullshit Me, Rogers

After Tony's disappearance, Nat and Gamora started creating new portals, windows to alternate dimensions and realities, with a renewed vigor.

"Hey, Gamora? What do you make of this one?" Nat called.

She approached from behind, as Nat showed her a scene of SHIELD Director Peggy Carter leaning in to kiss a handsome, unrecognizable man as he bounced a curly brown-haired baby on his hip. But before their lips could touch, the scene disintegrated into ash.

"That's Captain America's old flame." Nat explained. "She must have moved on after he disappeared, but why can't we see the rest of this timeline?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone tried to alter it?"

"But...who would do that?"

"Natasha?"

Nat's head jerked towards the sound of the new voice, which belonged to Steve Rogers.

"Steve?" Nat whispered in awe and confusion. "What are you doing here?"

He wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into her friend's familiar, sturdy build.

"They sent me to return the stones. But I'm going back, Nat. To be with her. With Peggy." He explained with a proud smile.

Nat pulled away from his embrace and stared him down with a strange look in her eyes.

"So that's it? You're just going to saunter off into some...blissful oblivion?"

"I guess so." Steve replied with a shrug. Nat's mouth gaped and her eyebrows furrowed with a quiet rage.

"That's ridiculous, Steve. Tony sacrificed his life for you, for all of us, and this is how you're going to repay him?"

"Frankly, Romanoff, I don't care what Stark thinks of me."

"Then what about me, huh? You really think I sacrificed myself so you could play house with Miss America? No. I did it so we could keep fighting, Steve. So I could maybe, just maybe, fulfill my purpose and do something good with my damn life."

"I'm sorry, Nat. I'm done fighting."

"Well, I'm not."

"You're telling me you wouldn't do the same thing with Bruce if you had the chance?"

"Don't you dare bring him into this."

"You would, and you know it."

"No, and you know why? Because we always chose the greater good over being together. It sucks. It really does. But it's part of our job, Steve."

"Not any more."

"I can't believe you."

"You don't have to."

"Well, once you're hiding behind your picket fence, maybe think of me stuck in purgatory every now and again, Rogers."

"Goodbye, Nat."

As Steve faded away, Nat stormed off towards Gamora, who had her arms crossed and her head cocked tentatively.

"What a prick."

"Yeah. He wasn't always that way. He was a bit self-righteous, sure. But I never thought he'd be this selfish."

"People change." Gamora said simply.

"And not always for the better."

She nodded sagely in agreement. "Well, the good news is, we don't need him anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"For some reason, he decided to return the Soul Stone first. So now we have a trace of all the other stones, including the Space Stone."

"Which is...good?"

"Better than good. The Space Stone lets you travel to any location in the universe, in any reality."

Nat's face lit up as she realized what Gamora was implying.

"It's our ticket out of here, Nat! We just have to gather its essence..."

She spun her hands together to form a small cyclone of orange fog, scanning for traces of the Space Stone. After a short moment, she was able to make her own. As the dainty blue rock fell into Gamora's hand, showering them both in a divine light, the two assassins shared a wide grin.