It took nearly 5 hours until the Earth came back into view. Wanda had fallen asleep in the back seat. Dr. Strange sat slumped in his chair, but awake, painfully aware of their new reality. Loki curled up in the front seat, his eyelids heavy but he refused sleep. Meanwhile, Thor navigated the Milano back towards the planet. By then, Wakanda had seen sunset hours earlier, and the country was covered in darkness.
Loki looked out at the blue, green, and white planet and watched as Thor attempted to re-enter the atmosphere. "Thor," he warned anxiously, "you're heading in too high, too fast! We'll burn up!"
"Wanda, wake up," Dr. Strange said, "we're coming in hot!" He poked at her and shook her awake. Startled, she opened her eyes to see they were moving fast and heating up.
Thor said, "It won't slow down!" He moved them over Africa and directly to Wakanda, the nose of the ship turning redder in the heat.
Wanda tried to use her magic to slow them down as the gavity of the planet, but it sucked them in.
"Pull up!" Loki demanded. He stood up and grabbing the steering mechanism from Thor, desperate to pull it up and away for a better re-entry.
"It's too late now!" Thor shouted, "Brace yourselves!"
Through the pitch blackness of the Wakandan battlefield, the ground came for them much sooner than they expected. As they struck the Earth, Thor and Loki were launched out of the windshield and thrown across the fields. Dr. Strange and Wanda used their magic to keep themselves inside as the entire ship spun and twisted in the air, kicking up rocks, dirt, and trees along the way.
Loki spat out dirt and picked himself up off the ground. Thor did the same. They knew it was late, but it was still surprising to see no welcoming party. They were all alone.
"Where is everyone?" Thor asked.
The sounds of helicopters quickly moved in across the sky, from all different directions. Spotlights came out and shined bright on them. Little red dots suddenly covered Loki. "Keep your hands where we can see them, Loki!" a voice demanded through a speaker from above.
Loki put his hands up as more red dots covered his chest. As if their bullets could hurt him. Thor brought Stormbreaker back into his hand.
"Thor, put your hands up!" the voice demanded, "Drop your weapon!"
Loki snarked, "I thought you said Midgard loves you."
"They do," he said, "or, at least they did. Something must have happened while we were away." He struggled to decide where to put his axe, fumbling it around awkwardly.
"It's too big, isn't it?"
"Shut up." Thor dropped Stormbreaker and put his hands up.
As soon as Wanda and Dr. Strange left the spaceship to join Thor and Loki outside, the spotlights and red dots circled them as well. Dr. Strange asked, "What's going on here? Where is everyone?"
Theodore Ross approached them on the ground as troops swarmed in from the darkness of the night. More spotlights were brought out to shed light on their situation. They were completely surrounded by guns. Ross explained, "Loki is a devastating threat to humanity. He is not permitted to stay on this planet."
"While I'm honored to hold such a distinction," Loki replied, "I can assure you this is not the reason I'm currently here."
Thor whispered to him, "Shut up before you piss anyone else off." He turned to Ross. "I apologize on my brother's behalf, sir, but Asgard is no more. Loki has nowhere else to go."
Dr. Strange asked, "What's the meaning of this for the rest of us?"
"Wanda Maximoff is also deemed as a threat to humanity," he explained, "every superhero who acted earlier today did so without permission from the UN as signed by the Sokovia accords, and there are dire consequences for such actions. Especially now that half the population has been suddenly turned into ashes. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark tried to convince me that you four were reversing the problem, so, how is that working out?"
Wanda tried to keep herself from crying. Dr. Strange answered sadly, "We weren't able to complete our mission. Thanos, the one who did this, he got rid of the stones before we arrived. It appears this cannot be undone."
"Great," Ross said, "so all this waiting was for nothing. Take them away to the holding cells. We'll begin your trials for unauthorized vigiliant justice in the morning. Book them."
Agents moved in to handcuff them, although they all knew with each of them holding so much power, the regular handcuffs they were given wouldn't do much. Thor gave Loki a look that begged him not to do or say anything stupid to cause more trouble.
Loki whispered, "Fear not brother, I'll get us out of this prediciment."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he replied.
As they walked away, some agents tried to lift Stormbreaker but no one could. It was left behind as the four of them were loaded up in a patty wagon.
"Even if the stones are gone there has to be something we can do to fix the world," Tony said desperately from his holding cell, "we have to think of a way to bring everyone back! We can't just leave things like this!"
Dr. Strange replied, "We'll all get our chance to think of something, but for now, get some sleep."
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Ceiling, wall, floor. Ceiling, wall, floor, the ball Loki conjured for himself repeatedly hit the ceiling, the wall, and then the floor at particular angles, always returning directly back to his hand. Wanda, laying in her bed in the cell directly on the other side of the wall, kept trying to close her eyes to get some sleep but...thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Although the straight jacket she was being kept in to quell her powers was uncomfortable, the noise was even more so.
Thor sat in the cell directly below Loki, not bothering to say anything because he knew the more he gave him the attention, the more he would continue do it, like the little brother he was. Everyone else locked up in compound however, after some time, couldn't hold back.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"Loki," Tony said from across the room in his own cell, "I know asking you to stop doing anything is futile, but I'll make an attempt anyway. Is it possible for you to stop making any noise for the next 8 hours?"
"Why should I?" Loki asked innocently. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Clint said from the cell next to Tony, "I know you don't really care about us, Loki, but us puny mortals or whatever you think of us, do need sleep."
Loki replied, "Gods sleep as well, but not in the same capacity as humans. We can go months without a proper rest."
"Awesome, so you understand our plight," Natasha said, standing in her cell above him, "why don't you get some sleep then, just for us?"
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Tony sighed and said, "Alright, I tried. Hey wizard!"
"What is it, Tony?" Dr. Strange asked, laying in his bed in an attempt to get some semblance of sleep and failing miserably.
"Aren't you pissed off like the rest of us right now that you're not getting any sleep because of this diva?" Tony asked, "Come on, I know you want to yell at him too."
Dr. Strange replied, "I used to pull all nighters in med school. Although, it felt easier back then." He yawned loudly.
"Can't you cast a spell on him to make him comply, or at least stop moving, for the rest of us?" Tony asked. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"I can't," he confessed, "they took my sling ring before locking me up in this holding cell. Now I'm just an ordinary man like the rest of you." Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
From his cell at the bottom of the cage, Sam said, "Tony, he's just doing the annoying little brother thing of trying to get attention. I would know, I'm an annoying little brother too. If we ignore him long enough he might calm down."
"Yeah I'm not waiting that long," Tony said, "Thor!"
"Loki," Thor said, "remember when you helped me save Asgard from our sister and Surter and everyone loved and praised you for being a hero? Why not try being the hero again, and stop all the noise you're making before you make everyone in our company hate you?"
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"You've always been a terrible manipulator, brother," Loki replied. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thor added, "If you have a shred of decency left in you, Loki, you'll be considerate of others and cater to them every once in a while."
Loki said, "And bow down to everyone else's whim? I refuse."
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Tony said, "That's it, Cap, it's your turn!"
Silence.
"He's asleep," Natasha said, staring right into Steve's cell to see he had fallen asleep a while earlier.
"Are you serious?" Tony asked, sitting up out of bed from shock.
"Yes," she added, "As is Bucky. They've both been out cold for a while now. I guess noises don't bother them after everything they've been through." Tony groaned in annoyance.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Wanda kept trying to close her eyes, but the noise was making it impossible for her to fully relax. "Loki," she said, "if you're going to keep banging on the side of my cell, can you at least change up the beat every once in a while? It's beginning to give me a headache."
Loki immediately stopped and made his ball disappear. Just as everyone was happy to get some relief, he conjured a porcelin tea set and then smashed it against the floor. Everyone jumped from the noise.
"Are you kidding me?!" Tony shouted from across the room.
"What was that?" Thor asked.
"I accidentally dropped the tea set I conjured," Loki replied, lying, "anyone want a cup?"
"No!" Clint and Tony shouted in unison.
Thor replied, "I'll have one."
"Don't encourage him, Thor!" Tony whined, "Seriously?" He watched as Thor held out an open hand and a tea cup magically appeared in it.
Natasha sat on the edge of her bed, head in her hands, and said, "This is going to be a long night."
After sipping some tea in silence, Loki began to sing an ancient chant he hadn't heard in centuries. "Þat mælti mín móðir, at mér skyldi kaupa." As Thor listened to his voice, he couldn't help but sing along quietly, under his breath. "Fley ok fagrar árar, fara á brott með víkingum."
"Is it possible for you to save this for a later date?!" Tony asked, using a pillow as earmuffs, but it didn't do much to muffle out the sound, "Maybe try daylight hours when I won't want to strangle you!"
"Standa upp í stafni, stýra dýrum knerri, halda svá til hafnar, hǫggva mann ok annan, hǫggva mann ok annan," Loki and Thor sang.
Throughout the never-ending hours of the entire night, Loki continued to make just enough noise to keep everyone (who wasn't Steve and Bucky) from sleeping. Dr. Strange however, watched for patterns in his mannerisms, and noticed something, but didn't dare say anything out loud. He decided to wait for the opportune moment instead.
As morning came, Tony demanded angrily, "Loki, is there a purpose to your madness, or do you hate all of us so much you like pissing us off for no reason?"
"I assure you I have a purpose," he replied.
"If you say you're 'burdened with glorious purpose' one more time I'm going to launch another exploding arrow at your face the second I get the chance," Clint said without hesitation. "You can count on it!"
The door leading into the main room of their cells buzzed opened, and Theodore Ross entered the large open space in the middle of everyone's holding cells. "Rise and shine everybody," he paused, looking to see everyone already staring at him, "oh, you're all already awake."
"No, no, no," Tony said, walking to the edge of his cell to get in as close to him as possible, "we're not all awake. Barnes and Noble down over there got to sleep through the whole night no problem. Not the rest of us though! Nope! The rest of us were kept up the entire time by the God of irritation over there!" He pointed to Loki across the room who sat innocently on the bed.
"Alright," Ross explained as he walked around in the circle of the room, "before we begin the court procedures this morning, I'd like to get a full detailed account of everything that happened to make half the world disappear in an instant yesterday. Start talking. What happened?"
Clint snarked, "It's simple. The end of the world happened."
He continued, "None of you had any jurisdiction to fight on our behalf."
"The fate of the universe was in the balance, Mr. Secretary," Natasha said hastily, walking to the edge of her cell to see him better, "we didn't exactly have time to stop at every country and ask permission to save everyone. The clock was ticking."
He said, "And maybe if you had our help, you wouldn't have failed."
"Failed?" Wanda said, her eyes turning red with her powers as she struggled to stand up in her straight jacket, "Did we fail everyone, or did you fail us, Secretary? Because if those Sokovia accords never happened we would have been together, and we would have had a better chance at stopping Thanos!" The collar on her neck glowed red, slowly breaking under her power. Loki took a few steps back away from her cell.
"Wanda," Clint said hesitantly.
"And who's fault is it that we made the Sokovia accords?" he asked rhetorically.
"Wanda! Cool it!" Tony shouted, "Don't do anything you might regret!"
As she screamed in agony, Wanda's powers erupted out of her power inhibiting suit and ripped across the entire compound. The walls caved in and fell apart under her power. Everyone braced themselves as they fell to the ground and were met with the sunrise.
Once everything was destroyed, she took flight with her powers, and disappeared into the clouds, and away from the rising sun.
"Wanda!" Clint called out. She was gone.
"What the hell, Ross?!" Tony shouted, kicking away rubble, "You didn't have to provoke her!"
Steve jumped to his feet. "What happened?" he asked, staring at everyone and checking his surroundings now covered in rubble. Bucky stood up awkwardly and stared at the mess he was now standing in, confused.
Natasha asked, "Have a nice sleep?"
"Until this," he answered, gesturing to their general surroundings.
Clint asked, "Where did Loki go?" They all turned and saw Thor, Loki, and Dr. Strange were nowhere to be seen. "Thor? Dr. Strange?"
Meanwhile, now walking away from what used to be the compound of jail cells, Thor and Loki made their way north. "I told you we'd escape from there, brother," Loki said.
"I was hoping you'd do it sooner rather than later and not in such a dramatic manner," Thor replied, "however at least we now we are free. We have no time for mortal games."
"Hey!" Dr. Strange's voice called from behind them, "Loki!" When they didn't turn around or even slow down to acknowledge him, he called out, "Your Royal Highness! Prince Loki of Asgard, first in line for the throne, God of mischief!"
Loki finally stopped and faced him. "Make haste, mortal sorcerer, I have no patience for your qualms, whatever they may be."
"So you did have a plan the whole night," he said, finally catching up to the two of them, "you didn't care who you made angry, you just wanted to keep Wanda up all night so her already broken mental state and poor control over her own powers would push her over the edge and break you two out."
Loki put his hands up. "You got me; your point is?"
"You have a plan on how to bring everyone back," Dr. Strange said, "and I want to know what it is."
Thor asked, "What makes you suggest such a thing?"
"You perked up halfway back from the trip to Thanos' garden," he explained, looking at Loki, "you haven't been down in the dumps since, despite all your grievences. Now that you reside on Earth, I want to make sure you don't cause any more problems for it. What's your plan?"
Loki glanced at Thor, who nodded at him. "I don't have a plan," Loki confessed, "I have an idea, that's very different."
Dr. Strange asked, "What's your idea?"
"With my magic I'll create a copy of an infinity stone and attempt to use it to find the real ones," he answered, "if it works, we can recollect all six stones and undo everything Thanos did with our own snap." He snapped his fingers.
He took a moment to take all that in. "A copy," he said, "and if you tell everyone and it doesn't work, you've given everyone false hope that'll make them fall into greater despair. You're not as heartless as you just made everyone believe. Not bad, but I still don't trust you. I'll do it."
Loki scoffed, "You'll do it? Prey tell, what qualifies you?"
"I'm sorcerer supreme," he said bluntly, "and keeper of the time stone." He paused, "Or at least I was before yesterday."
"Perhaps that means something important in this realm," Loki replied, "I, on the on the other hand, have personally been mind raped by the mind stone, created portals with the space stone, been nearly torn apart by the power stone, turned inside out by the soul stone, and bent reality to my whims with the reality stone. Considering how much experience I have with nearly all of them, I believe out of the two of us I'm more qualified to create a copy of one."
Dr. Strange didn't have anything to say to that. No quips or anything snarky came to mind. "Do you have a possible timeframe?"
"It's never been done," he said, "it could take months, or it could be impossible."
Thor added, "It's best to keep this quiet, Strange. It is possible this won't work, and our enthusiasm is all for not."
Dr. Strange nodded, understanding the implications. "You should know the world governments aren't going to be happy with either of you for walking away from this," he gestured to the compound they were leaving behind, "it might be in your best interest to stay and sit for trial."
"And listen to mortals whine about how terrible I've been to them in the past and that they wish me dead?" Loki asked rhetorically, "I think I'll manage without all that."
Thor added, "If they wish to see me, they know they'll find me in Norway."
"Keep in touch," Dr. Strange said, "maybe get a cell phone so people can call you when needed. Whether this idea works or not, I want to be the first to know."
One Year Later
"You can't sulk in here alone forever," Sharon Carter said to Steve as he sat alone at the table of the avenger's headquarters. She asked, "Do you want to come with me to the store?"
He shook his head. "You know I can't."
"You can," she corrected, "but you choose not to. There is a difference."
Steve explained, "I don't want you to get hurt for being in the same car as me, alright? Not again."
Nearly a year earlier the courts ruled everyone who fought against Thanos as guilty for crimes against the Sokovia accords. They were all stripped of their superhero titles, uniforms, and affiliations. Some wanted them killed for being failures, but the court ultimately decided they would be forced to live out ordinary lives, and get regular jobs. It was easier said than done. No company or business wanted anything to do with any of them.
After seeing the failure playing out in real time, the courts only seized half of Tony's assets. They let him keep the Avengers headquarters, and let everyone live there, but that was it. Now anytime they left, they were met with pure anger and hatred from the general populace.
"I can't sit in here anymore it's too depressing," Sharon said, "do you need anything while I'm out?" For her personally, half the population disappearing helped her out. After superheros were disbanded, everyone who helped Steve Rogers and those who followed him, were pardoned, no longer deemed a threat.
Steve replied, "Yeah sure, get some eggs or something while you're out. Sam eats half a dozen a day it seems like."
"Well, he wants to keep up with big guys like you and Bucky," she said, then looked around the room and asked, "Where are Sam and Bucky?"
"At the salvage yard doing their jobs," he answered, "you know, cleaning up the streets."
Sharon nodded. "What about you? Found anyone that'll hire you yet?" Steve shook his head. "Do you have anything special planned for today, or are you just going to sit there, in silence, alone?"
He replied, "I'll try getting through to Tony again."
She made her lips disappear. "Good luck with that." She grabbed her purse and wallet and moved for the front door.
After she was gone, Steve went downstairs and stood outside the door in the basement of the avenger's headquarters and knocked a few times. "Tony," he said patiently, "come on out and see some daylight. It's beautiful outside."
Tony opened the door, clearly waking up from a hangover, disheveled. "It's not working," he said, stumbling on his words, "I can't get it to work. It'll never work."
"Time travel again?" Steve asked.
"Yes, time travel again," Tony said as he walked to the back of his room with his supercomputer in the middle of it, "no matter what I try to plug in, the wrong stuff always comes out." He gestured to his supercomputer and its holograms showing things Steve didn't understand. "Pepper, Happy, little Peter P., Rhodes, Banner, it's been 365 days without them as of today." He took a shaky breath. "Too many days."
Steve gently walked into the room. "It's been a painful year, Tony," he said.
Tony shook his head. "Don't give me that, Cap," he said quickly, "it hasn't been that painful for you."
"I might still have most of my friends," Steve said, "that includes you, by the way, but I know the world will never be the same again. I know what it's like to wake up, and suddenly everything is different, and everyone you cared about before is gone. The new people you meet tell you that the world has changed, and you better change with it, or get left behind. It's painful to live through, and it's painful to see what you're doing to yourself down here in the dark, Tony." He turned on a lamp light. "Come upstairs and enjoy some of the sun. It's beautiful outside."
"What's the sun going to do for me?" he demanded, as if Steve had an answer, "It's not going to bring everyone back."
"I don't want you to be alone down here," Steve insisted, "not today. Come on. Let's go."
Tony finally conceded and went upstairs with Steve. He had to put the shades of his glasses on with the sun shining so bright through the dining room windows.
As he sunk down into his seat at the table, Tony said sadly, "I'm all out of ideas, Cap."
"Then I'm sorry," Steve said. He wanted to be optimistic. To tell him that he'd think of something, and not to lose hope. But they had all thought of everything, and nothing seemed to work. Everyone was miserable, and everyone was sick of being miserable.
The lights flickered hard, making them both look up in confusion. Nothing seemed to be the cause. Then, a bright light suddenly manifested in the middle of the dining room, and a man shined through it all. The light slowly faded away and revealed a man with long golden hair braided down his scalp and back, bright blue eyes, pale skin, and doning golden and purple armor, along with a cape in Asgardian style. He stood before them and smiled wide.
Confused, Steve asked, "Who are you?"
"Be not afraid mortals," he explained, outstretching his arm calmly, "I have not intruded in your dwelling. This is merely an illusion. My name is Baldur, and I am the God of light."
Tony shielded his eyes and said, "Hence how bright you are. Do you come with a dimmer switch?"
Baldur said, "Do I shine too brightly for you? Is this better?" He toned down his brightness to a regular level and smiled at them again.
"Thank you," Steve said.
Baldur brought out a scroll and said, "I have a message for a Steven, son of Rogers, and Antonio, son of Stark..." he paused and read the scroll, "that isn't right. Steven Rogerson and Antonio Starkson?"
Tony said, "Those aren't our names. If you're worried about it, my father's name was Howard."
"Joseph," Steve said.
"Steven Josephson and Antonio Howardson," Baldur said, looking at the two of them and then back down at the scroll inquiringly, knowing this wasn't right.
"Close enough," Tony said, grimacing, "I promise you have the right people. What's going on? What do you want? Why are you here?"
Baldur read from the scroll, "I, Baldur, shall present to you an invitation to meet with the King. You are formally invited to the Kingdom of New Asgard residing within the country of Norway, by King Thor Odinson, God of thunder. You shall receive the invitation shortly." He closed the scroll and gazed upon them.
After a brief moment of silence, Tony and Steve looked around the room awkwardly. "Well, where's the invitation?" Steve asked.
"It is being delivered to you now by arrow," he answered, "we figured someone should make an illusion of themselves to warn you ahead of delivery. Otherwise, you may have feared you were under attack."
As he finished his sentence, a massive arrow struck through the window of the front door, shattering the glass. Steve and Tony both nearly jumped out of their skin as it landed on the floor beside them.
Baldur said, "Good tidings." His illusion disappeared.
Tony and Steve jumped back at the sudden arrow. They walked over and saw a piece of paper tied to it.
Tony read, "King Thor of Asgard formally invites Steve Rogers, Captain America, and Tony Stark, Ironman, to the kingdom of New Asgard to have a meeting with his majesty the king, Thor Odinson." He paused. "Why so formal?"
"Maybe this is the way his people do things where he's from," Steve replied. "Looks like we're headed to New Asgard."
Tony said, "I wish I still had my own jets. I hate flying with strangers."