AN: Hiya, you guys! So, I deeply apologise about the issue with Chapter 7. It turns out it had somehow changed the font, which had caused the text to go haywire. It's fixed now, though, so if you haven't read it you can go do that now!
Anyways, i'd also like to say I appreciate all your kind reviews! I wouldn't have even known about the Chpt. 7 issue if you guys hadn't called it out. Thanks so much!
As you know, Endgame is drawing near. I am extremely excited for it, and am already on the look-out for tickets. Marvel have recently posted pictures, which I'm sure I mentioned in the last chapter, of our favourite characters. If you haven't seen them, pop onto their Instagram page. You'll find them. But what gained my attention was the fact the Valkyrie was there. In colour with the other alive characters, in fact! Therefore, I'm almost positive she'll play a role in Endgame. So, I'll throw our resident drunk bad-ass into the story in a chapter or two. That's gonna be fun.
ANYWAYS, I rant too much. You probably want to get to the chapter. Unless you just scrolled through, in which I don't blame you. Go on, read it. It's right there. I don't know why you're still here. gO!
Chapter 8 ~ Legends Never Die
Steve picked up the device and looked at it strangely.
"What the hell even is that?" Rocket asked, climbing on Thor's shoulder to get a better look. "That's some old tech. You Terrans aren't very advanced."
"It's a communicator of some kind," Steve noted.
Natasha, who was peering inside the black SUV next to the fallen device, turned her head with a large frown on her face. Thor tilted his head slightly. What was bothering the ex-assassin? The fact that the vehicle was empty, or something else?
He got his answer when Natasha rejoined the group. She held a badge—a badge with a familiar logo.
"The owners of that device were previously a part of SHIELD," Natasha noted. She flipped the badge over, inspecting it.
"I thought SHIELD fell years ago?" Rhodey asked.
"It did," Steve answered.
"Some people might have kept their ID's, for one reason or another," Natasha added.
"What would they need it for?" Bruce questioned. Natasha's only response was a shrug.
"Well, we're wasting time standing around here," Steve decided. Thor voiced his agreement with a curt nod.
"The First Respondents seem to have most of it covered now, anyways," Rhodey added.
"Let's go see what this garbage-tech is," Rocket declared, leaping down from Thor's shoulder.
The group made towards the Quinjet and set off towards the Compound.
...
It had started to get dark, wherever in the universe Loki, Cooper, Bucky and Sam were. The group had started to set up a small campsite in the clearing.
Loki was watching Cooper arrange the firewood Sam and Bucky brought over. The young boy had his tongue out in a look of pure concentration, earning an amused smile from Sam.
"Careful, kiddo, or tall dark and handsome over there will chop your tongue out," Sam warned playfully. Loki shot him a glare.
"I would not. For one thing, he is but a child. For another, I only stab with reason," Loki fired back.
"Will you two shut up and get to work?" Bucky snapped, tossing a small piece of wood at Sam's head.
"Not everybody was blessed with a metal arm," Sam huffed. He disappeared into the undergrowth, returning a moment later with three pieces of firewood. Next to him, Bucky emerged with triple the amount.
"Show off!" Sam grunted as he dropped his wood.
"Just because I actually put effort into my biceps doesn't mean I'm showing off."
"Hey!" Sam barked. "I put effort into my biceps!"
"Really?" Bucky raised an eyebrow. "You seem like more of a quads kind of guy."
"I never skip leg day," Sam agreed proudly. "Besides, don't go bragging about your biceps. You were physically enhance plus you have a metal arm. That's not fair."
"Oh, for mercy's sake!" Loki snapped. "Will you two stop comparing bodies? I think figuring out where we are is more important."
"The fire is finished," Cooper announced with a proud smile. Bucky dropped once last piece of firewood.
"Nice work, squirt."
Cooper smiled under the mans praise, and Loki sighed. He flattened his palm and hovered it over the wood. A spark of green appeared at his fingertips as he sent his seidr towards the wood below. Within moments, a fire was steadily growing under his hand.
It was ironic that a Frost Giant like himself could create fire.
Cooper was marvelling over what just happened.
"How did you do that?" He demanded, eyes shining.
"Magic," was all Loki said, a smirk forming across his face as he sat back. Cooper puffed out his cheeks.
"Magic isn't real! It's just science we don't understand yet."
"You'd call my… abilities science?" Loki asked, eyebrows steadily climbing up his face.
"Mmhm!" Cooper hummed in response. Loki flung his hand to the side, sending a small green blast of energy hurling towards a nearby tree.
"Still think it's science?" He asked.
"Yup," Cooper replied, popping the 'p.'
"You mortals are persistent," Loki muttered.
"Aye, Lokes!" Sam shouted, poking out of the undergrowth near where he sent his magic. "Could you stop trying to burn the forest down?"
"No, I think I like burning the forest down," Loki replied, earning a huff from Sam.
"Fine. When you go up in flames, don't look to me for help," the Avenger mumbled, disappearing again. Loki sighed.
It was going to be a long night.
…
The ride in the Quinjet was filled with scientific talk that Thor had decided to tune out after a while. All he really needed to understand was that it was a communicator of sorts.
When they touched down at the compound, Bruce, Steve, and Natasha immediately went for the labs. Thor mulled about outside for a few minutes before heading inside. He needed to give himself time to process the situation.
A SHIELD agent had contacted someone. But who? Did they not believe in the Avengers to fix everything anymore?
Thor didn't blame them. They'd let half the universe be snapped away; he had little faith in himself.
And which SHIELD agent requested the backup? He only really knew three members of the former organisation, those people being Phil Coulson, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury. But Coulson was dead, so it couldn't have been him.
That left Hill and Fury.
They were both possible options, but yet again, there could be other former agents out there.
Thor held on to his suspicions of Hill and Fury because he doubted anyone else as a suspect. Satisfied with himself, Thor followed everybody down to the labs.
When he got there, Bruce had already hooked the communicator up to some machine and was monitoring it. Steve hovered at his side, while Natasha stood staring at the device through the glass. Thor sat down at the back of the room, resting Stormbreaker next to him. Rocket was watching the rest of the group, rolling his eyes, and Rhodey was nowhere to be seen.
"Anything yet, Bruce?" Steve asked. Bruce frowned and shook his head slightly.
"All I know is this thing is transmitting an extremely strong signal out of our orbit. I don't know to who, or why."
"Out of our orbit?" Natasha asked, turning around.
"That's what I said," Bruce confirmed.
"But why would it-"
Before she could finish, there was a loud sound—almost like a harsh breeze. Thor stood, Rocket beside him.
Behind Steve stood a woman, long blonde hair falling over her shoulders. She glared daggers at Steve, who had turned around to look at her.
"Where. Is. Fury?" She drew out. Bruce and Natasha exchanged a look.
"And who the hell are you?" Rocket asked.
The woman glanced at the small creature, not seeming the little bit unsettled.
"My name is Carol Danvers, and I will ask only one more time; where is Fury?"
…
Throughout the night, Bucky and Loki had taken turns keeping watch. They weren't even sure if the precaution was necessary; they didn't know if anyone else was here besides themselves. But Bucky wanted to reassure Cooper, so Loki had grudgingly agreed to keep watch with him.
Sam refused, going on about how he 'needed his beauty sleep.'
"You think these looks just happen, Barnes?" Sam had scoffed.
Now, it was Loki's shift, and he was currently flicking his hand at the fire to fuel it. He could use to firewood Bucky and Sam worked 'oh so hard' to collect, but he enjoyed seeing the look on Bucky's face when he refused to use it. Not only did the ex-assassin still not understand how Loki was able to keep the fire going, he was pissed his and Sam's (but mostly his,) hard work was for nothing.
Ah, the little things, Loki thought with a satisfied smirk.
The sun was steadily rising, though even at night the sky still had the strange orange hue. It was certainly curious. Perhaps that will help me figure out where we all are, Loki though as he stood to stretch his legs.
Once everybody else was awake, they set off into the forest again. They'd found a path of sorts. Though it was littered with tree roots and the odd stone here and there, it was much better than trudging through the undergrowth.
Bucky took the lead, brown eyes scanning the distant trees carefully. Sam walked just behind him, Cooper riding on his shoulders, and Loki took up the rear. Every so often, Loki would look behind his shoulder. He felt like something was peering at him through the looming trees. He shivered and kept walking, though he had his seidr ready at his fingertips.
They walked on for a few more minutes, until whatever Loki had felt peering at him made itself known. At the sharp rustle of the undergrowth, Loki whipped around and flung his hand out, sending a burst of green magic in the direction of the noise. Nothing happened; no pained grunt, no second rustle, nothing. Loki narrowed his eyes, glancing back at the rest of the groups curious stares.
"Y' all right, there, Lokes?" Sam asked. Loki scowled and nodded.
"Thought I heard something, is all," he mumbled.
As they continued on, Loki spared one last glance behind him. Lucky he did, or he wouldn't have seen the orange sparks—the beginnings of a portal.
None other than Stephen Strange stepped out of the portal, expression grim.
"Finally. Your magic is all over the place. I couldn't get a hold on your location," the doctor huffed.
"Stephen?" Loki couldn't hide the utter confusion in his voice. "What in the Nine Realms—you're here, too?"
"Unfortunately."
"Aye, who the hell is this guy?" Sam asked.
"Watch your language, Wilson," Bucky snapped, sparing Cooper a glance. The young boy only shrugged.
"I've heard worse," Cooper admitted. Sam let Cooper off his shoulders and rested one hand on his gun.
"I ask again; who is this?"
"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange," Stephen answered with a nod. "And I need you all to come with me."
…
"We don't know," Natasha answered with a frown. "How do you know Fury?"
Thor noticed the resemblance between the communicators screen and this Carol's suit; blue and red with a gold star in the chest.
"We're friends," Carol replied, eyes narrowed. Natasha returned the gesture, pushing Steve out of the way to come face-to-face with the other woman.
"I'm sure I would remember you if that were the truth."
"I don't remember you either," Carol replied with a shrug.
"Why do you need Fury?" Bruce piped up, popping his head out from behind Steve.
"The real question is; why does he need me?" Carol replied. She pushed past Natasha and made her way to the communicator behind the glass. "I gave him that device should he ever need me. He activated it, so something must be wrong. Anybody here care to fill me in?"
Thor swallowed hard and lowered his gaze. Everyone else seemed to share his discomfort, because there was only silence following the question.
"Since these morons don't feel like it, I'll help ya out, nice lady," Rocket decided, crossing his arms. "This giant purple jackass-Titan got his hand on all six Infinity Stone thingy's and wiped out half of the universe."
"Half of..?" Carol trailed off, her eyes briefly holding something that resembled horror. Rocket hummed his confirmation. Thor watched the exchange with interest. There was something about this woman that radiated power, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Steve cleared his throat.
"Why would Fury have you on-call, if you don't mind me asking?"
Carol smiled.
"That's simple. I stopped the Kree army from invading Earth, and he went against SHIELD to assist me. I told him should he ever need me again, give me a call. And he did."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rocket interrupted, raising his hand (paw?) "Kree? You know those jackasses?"
"I used to live there," Carol added. "And I agree. They are jackasses."
"You're Kree?" Rocket asked, screwing up his face in confusion. "You don't look Kree," he muttered under his breath.
"No, I'm not Kree. I'm human. I was taken from Earth after an… accident, and the Kree tried to turn me into their secret weapon," Carol huffed with a roll of her eyes.
"What kind of accident?"
"I don't have time for this, Raccoon. We have a universe to bring back," Carol snapped.
"Raccoon?" Rocket scoffed. "I'm not no raccoon, lady. The name's Rocket."
"Moving on," Natasha sighed. "You think we can bring everybody back?" Her voice had a hint of hope, something Thor couldn't help but break a smile at.
"Well, sure. I don't see why not. You say he used the Infinity Stones?" Carol asked, turning back to Rocket. Thor answered for him.
"He did."
Carol raised an eyebrow. "And who would you be?" She asked, taking a step forward. Thor remained straight faced, even as she was inches from his face. They both stood, eyes unblinking. The room was silent around them, almost as though everybody else was holding their breath.
Then, Thor raised his arm and opened his palm, calling Stormbreaker over from the other side of the room. Carol spared a glance at his arm, watching the axe fly into his open palm, though her eyes remained unblinking.
Impressive.
Thor brought Stormbreaker in front of him and leaned on it, turning his head to Steve.
"I like this one," he decided, cracking a smile.
…
The group of four stepped through Stephen's portal, all a little reluctant. Loki had kept one dagger out, just in case they were being tricked. He watched the doctors every move for a few moments, before sparing a glance of their surroundings.
Stephen wasn't alone; he had another boy Loki didn't recognise with him. The boy wasn't as young as Cooper but was still younger than the rest of the group. Cooper and the other boy were talking, while Sam, Bucky, Stephen and himself stood in an awkward circle.
"So," Loki started, "want to introduce us to your companion over there?"
The boy seemed to have heard, because he turned and smiled nervously.
"Oh, uh—I'm Pe- "the boy glanced at Sam and Bucky, before finishing his cut off sentence with, "Spider-man."
Loki blinked. This didn't look like the child in the blue-and-red suit. Instead, this boy wore an armoured suit more like Stark's.
"I remember you," Sam decided. "You're that kid from the Airport."
"Yep. That's me," Spider-man confirmed.
"I didn't know you were so young," Bucky muttered.
"I'm not young! I'm a man! Spider-man! Is that really a hard concept?"
"Moving away from introductions," Stephen interjected, "I believe we should start looking for the others."
"The others? How do you know there are any others here?" Loki asked, crossing his arms.
"Simple. I looked into the future. Surely you, in all your Godly glory, know where we are?"
Loki frowned thoughtfully and moved his gaze away. Did he know where they were? Loki skimmed over the information in his head, blocking out the conversations around him.
Thanos obtained all the Infinity Stones; Power, Stone, Reality, Time, Mind, and Soul. Soul. Thanos snapped his fingers, and everybody faded away. He used the stones, specifically Soul. His mind flickered back to when he first saw the sky, the faint orange hue on the horizon. The color matched that of the Soul Stone.
His eyes widened and he looked up to find Stephen staring at him intently.
"We're in the Soul Stone, aren't we?" He breathed. Stephens response was a solemn nod.
"You're as smart as you look, surprisingly."
"What's that supposed to mean, wizard?" He snapped.
"Hey, you guys done staring into each other's eyes?" Sam called. Somehow, the rest of them had moved away. Perhaps Stephen shooed them off as he was lost in his mind palace.
"Very," Loki huffed, shooting one last glare at Stephen before slipping in between Bucky and Spider-man. "Let's go find some dead people, then, shall we?" He smirked, looking around the circle of others for nods of agreement.
Instead, they voiced their opinions.
"Why not?"
"I guess."
"We're dead? Uh—I mean, yeah! Lets go."
"Hell yeah!" Spider-man declared.
"Watch your mouth, young man," Stephen scolded.
"You're not my dad," Spider-man huffed.
"Oh, well, Tony is. And he'd kill me if I didn't say anything."
"I thought you hated each other?"
"Mildly dislike. Once you get over his ego, he isn't bad."
Loki rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?"
And then they set off.
ONE FAVOURITE = one Tylenol for the headache Loki is bound to get at some point
ONE REVIEW = Carol gets a gold star for not being intimidated by Thor (good job bb im proud)