Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for his help with this chapter.
Jinera: No spoilers.
Ellie Bishop: No kidding. He certainly is, the two best fathers of the MCU are Clint and Scott. Yeah, I agree, part of the reason Thor lost in Infinity War was because he had almost no time to recover from the events of Ragnarok. Yep. No kidding on Vision. Civil War even implies Wanda had tried to set boundaries with Vision with little success, which is very telling. Yep, won't be long now.
Green Hal37: Yep, it sure did. Glad to hear it.
Asgard
Morning
In the throne room of the royal palace, Thor sat on the throne as he held a council. Before him stood Sif, Heimdall, the Warrior Three, Loki (who was in handcuffs and restrained by Hogan and Fandral) and, to the surprise of everyone else, Skurge. Thor took a moment to eye them all before speaking.
"In one hour, Loki and I shall depart to Misgard to retrieve my father," Thor began. "In our absence, Heimdall shall be my regent."
"I shall accept this burden from you until your return," Heimdall said humbly and Thor nodded.
"Skurge," Thor turned to address the newcomer to his council. "I have a job for you."
"Whatever you need, I'll do it," Skurge said eagerly and Thor nodded as he eyed Skurge carefully.
"I need someone to be my eyes and ears among the people. Someone who can blend into a crowd, catch things the rest of us cannot. Can you do that for me?" Thor asked as he looked Skurge right in the eye.
"Of course. Yeah, you can count on me, one hundred percent," Skurge said eagerly as Thor eyed him cautiously.
"I hope so. Now leave us, I have things I must discuss with my friends," Thor ordered.
Skurge nodded, leaving the throne room, a kick in his step now.
"Are you sure that's wise Thor? Skurge was in league with Loki," Sif pointed out as she glared at Loki, who merely smirked.
"You give him too much credit. I fooled him, just as I fooled all of you," Loki boasted.
"My reasons for trusting Skurge are my own. But we have more we need to discuss," Thor said and they all looked at him. "After we retrieve my father, I have business to attend to with the Avengers. I shall be a few days."
"Oh God, can we not talk with the metal man and the simpleton with a shield?" Loki groaned.
"I can always leave you with Sif as your jailer," Thor said pointedly.
Loki took all of one second to consider that, glancing over at Sif eying him darkly before turning back to Thor.
"When do we leave?"
Avengers Compound
Same time
In the kitchen, Wanda was eating breakfast, watching the news when someone entered the room. Sam walked up beside her, looking over at the TV.
"Anything interesting on the news?" Sam asked and she shrugged.
"Some celebrity wedding, a high speed chase, a tornado in Kansas. Oh, and T'Challa's going to be king," Wanda said and Sam looked at her startled.
"Back up, T'Challa's going to be what?" Sam asked.
"King T'Chaka made an announcement that he's going to be stepping down, T'Challa's going to succeed him as king," Wanda explained and Sam took a moment to process this.
"Guess things worked out for him over in Wakanda," Sam mused.
The room was silent for a moment as Wanda continued eating breakfast. As Sam watched her, he noticed for the first time how young she was. She was around the same age he was when he joined the air force, and had already gone through so much.
"Something on my face?" Wanda asked as she caught him staring.
"No," Sam said, sitting down next to her. "Wanda…I know we're all dealing with what we saw over there. But that doesn't mean you have to do it alone. If you ever need a friend or just someone to listen, kind of what I used to do for a living."
Wanda nodded, a lump in her throat. It had been…a long time since anyone besides Steve or Clint had tried being there for her with no ulterior motive. Before she could stop herself, Wanda had wrapped her arms around Sam in a hug.
"Thank you," Wanda said lowly, closing her eyes to hold back the tears.
"It's what friends do," Sam said softly as he returned the hug.
Asgard
Not long after
"I should go with you," Sif insisted to Thor as they headed to Himinbjorg. "You can't trust Loki."
"I do not. But I can handle my brother. It is you I am unsure of," Thor said stiffly and Sif eyed him confused.
"You are angry with me. What wrong have I done you?" Sif asked as they stopped.
"You lied to me. You knew about the Son of Coul," Thor said stonily, turning around to face the stunned Sif. "And you let me believe he was dead."
"He wished to tell you the truth himself," Sif tried to explain.
"You should have told me!" Thor snapped before lowering his voice. "It does not matter what he wished, you should have told me the truth. After all the centuries we have fought by each other's side…you owed me more than that."
"Just…tell me what I can do to make this right Thor," Sif pleaded and Thor was silent for a moment.
"Remain on Asgard. If you want my trust back, follow my orders. Stay here and keep an eye on things," Thor said stiffly.
Thor then turned, walking away from Sif as she watched him go sadly.
New York
Same time
In her office at Stark Industries, Pepper was doing some paperwork when her desk phone beeped.
"Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark is here to see you," her assistant said over the intercom.
Pepper frowned, wondering what Tony was doing here. Since their break up, Tony had kept a wide berth from Stark Industries. And her, come to think of it. The two of them had only talked about work and those conversations were always short and uncomfortable. For him not just to show up announced, but to not barge in was very odd for Tony.
"Send him in," Pepper told her secretary.
After a few moments, the door to her office opened and Tony walked in.
"Hey Pep," Tony said awkwardly.
"Hey," Pepper echoed. "What are you doing here? Not that you're not welcome, just-"
"It's okay, I know what you meant. I'm actually here on business," Tony said and Pepper raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, let's talk," Pepper said, gesturing towards the seat in front of her desk.
Tony nodded and, as he sat down, Pepper looked at him. He seemed different somehow, as though he'd found his purpose. What had happened, Pepper wondered.
"So, I've been going through some cold files on Damage Control. Turns out during the cleanup of the Chitauri invasion, some people were laid off from construction companies," Tony explained, reaching inside his coat pocket and pulling out a flash drive. "I've put together a list of the people who lost their jobs and what position in the company they would be most suited for based on resume, background and current situation. It's all on the drive."
"Tony…I understand you want to help these people but you know we can't give them all jobs," Pepper said gently. "It's just not possible."
"I know. But we can help the people who need it most. I owe them that much," Tony said, his eyes alight with fire she hadn't seen since his return from Afghanistan.
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything," Pepper said after a moment, picking up the drive. "I'll look at it and I'll call you in a few days."
"Thank you," Tony said gratefully.
As Tony got to his feet, Pepper eyed him uncertainly. Yes, something was different about Tony. She just wasn't sure whether it was good or bad yet.
At Shady Acres Care home, Thor and Loki, in earth clothes, were led inside by an orderly.
"You mean we've had an Asgardian here all this time?" the orderly asked in shock.
"Indeed," Thor said, shooting Loki a dark look. "I trust you'll keep this quiet?"
"Of course, the last thing we need is the publicity," the orderly agreed as they stopped outside a room. "Here we are."
Thor nodded at the orderly in gratitude before pushing open the door and entering the room. As Loki followed him, they found their father. Odin was sitting in a chair, watching a television program Thor recalled seeing while on earth but couldn't name it. Odin showed no reaction to his son's presence and the two brothers exchanged weary glances before they approached him.
"Father," Thor said gently.
"Hello my sons," Odin said, chuckling at something that happened on the show. "I see why you like it here so much. Earth does have its charms."
"Loki, lift your magic," Thor ordered.
"No need, I broke through the spell months ago," Odin revealed, turning to look at the surprised Loki. "It took me some time though. Frigga would have been proud."
Loki was taken aback by this, confused by his father's reaction while Thor's throat tightened, remembering the recordings. But he still had another two years before that, he reminded himself.
"We've come to take you home," Thor told Odin.
"No. No, I think I am content here," Odin said, looking up at his sons. "Breaking the spell, it drained much of my power. I am little more than a human now. And Asgard cannot have a weak king."
"I still need your help Father. I need your help with Hela," Thor said.
As Loki looked at Thor confused, Odin chuckled.
"I see, so you know about Hela, do you? I know she will one day break free of her prison. When that day comes, you must be there to face her my son," Odin said as he stared up at Thor. "But, my time as king has passed. It is time for you to ascend the throne. It is time for you to become king."
Thor nodded with a heavy breath. He had known it was a possibility when he had returned to the present. But it did not make the reality any less daunting. But he was king now, whether he liked it or not.
Bucharest
Afternoon
Steve and Natasha walked up the stairs before rounding the corner. The pair walked down the hall before stopping on one of the last doors on the right.
"You ready for this?" Natasha asked.
"No," Steve said honestly. "Are you?"
"No," Natasha echoed.
Steve shot a weak smile at her before raising his hand and knocking on the door. After ten seconds and nothing, Steve glanced at Natasha, who nodded. Grabbing the door handle, Steve found it unlocked and opened it. Together, they walked inside.
They found the apartment seemingly empty. It looked exactly as it had in the recordings, Steve noted as they looked around. Completely barren of any decorations, save a table. Walking over, Steve saw Bucky's book on the table, which he picked up, examining it.
Suddenly, they felt a presence in the room. Steve put the book down before he and Natasha turned around, seeing Bucky lurking in the shadows.
"Bucky," Steve said, a lump in his throat as his best friend stared at him wearily.
"Steve," Bucky said wearily, his body tense as if preparing for a fight.
"Relax, we're not here to fight," Natasha said, pulling out pistol, which she knew Bucky had noticed, and placing it on the table. "Just to talk…do you remember me?"
"You're Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. I read about you in the news," Bucky said but they all knew he was lying.
"We both know that's not was I was talking about," Natasha said pointedly. "Do you remember me James?"
"Bits and pieces," Bucky said after a moment. "I remember training sessions, stolen kisses, nights we had in secret. Natalia. That's how I knew you."
"Yes," Natasha said gently, sensing this was as hard for him as it was for her.
Steve watched the scene, feeling like an intruder on an intimate moment. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much, but now was not the time to analyze it.
"Buck, we need you to come with us. For your own good," Steve spoke up and Bucky looked at him sharply. "We've received Intel that someone is going to use you in a plot to come after us. They know how to trigger you."
"Hydra?" Bucky inquired.
"No, worse. Someone with nothing to lose," Natasha said grimly as she thought of Zemo. "We can help you, but we need you to come with us."
"We know someone who might be able to deprogram you," Steve said and Bucky seemed interested. "Do you trust us?"
"I want to," Bucky said, seeming hopeful but hesitant.
"You pulled me from the river. Why?" Steve asked after a moment.
"I don't know," Bucky lied.
"Yes you do," Steve said certainly. "Because you remembered me. You started to remember who you were."
"My head, my memories…it's still a mess," Bucky said softly, looking away from them.
"Because you've been doing this alone. But you're not anymore," Natasha said and he looked at her with a wounded look. "I was just like you once, I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. But someone helped me; he gave me a second chance. Now let us give you one, all you have to do is reach out and take it."
"Buck…please, let us help you," Steve pleaded and Bucky was silent for a long moment.
"Where do we start?"
So, I know not a whole lot happened last chapter, but next chapter will finally start delivering on some action, as the first major change to the timeline will happen.
