AN: Well, long-time no-see, everybody! I actually wasn't planning on being gone this long. Life happened, I guess. Anyways, I had to hurry and get this up because I'm leaving tomorrow on a school trip lasting until Wednesday. I'll be able to write on the bus, so I thought I'd just shove this out there for now. Hopefully, for the 5 hour ride, I'll get at least most of the next chapter finished. We are also getting into the importance of the plot-line soon, with the Avengers that end up assembling in this chapter. Hope y'all are excited!

Also, I feel like I should mention this because I can. If you dont wanna read, go ahead and scroll down. I've been dealing with some stuff as of late, which is part of the reason for my absence. This pride month i have come to terms with my sexuality; a heteromantic asexual. (I guess now i can officially say im an ace at writing ahAHAHAHA puns) Anyways, I haven't officially... come out yet. Hell, i'm still trying to understand fully what being ace means. But, i've told nobody about this writing platform and what I do, or that i'm even interested in writing fanfiction. It may just be the social anxiety, but I don't want to watch as people read my stuff. ESPECIALLY when they read it out loud. Over the internet, it's much easier. What's the point of this, you ask? Well, I want to thank every one of you for even VIEWING this story. For my first real fic, this story has 41 comments, and several thousand favourites. I think that's a pretty good accomplishment, and it shows me that other people actually enjoy my writing. Thank you guys so much for your support! You have no idea how much it means to me. I love you guys 3000, so lets get on with the chapter.

(thanks for those who read)

...

Chapter 11 ~ Young Gods

Natasha set the Quinjet on autopilot and ducked out of the cockpit, sitting quietly next to her best friend. Clint had been quiet ever since they'd taken off, and Natasha couldn't blame him. He'd lost almost everything. Without speaking, she laid her hand on Clint's shoulder. Clint looked up from his lap and gave her a sad, weak smile.

"You good?" She asked, even though she knew it was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't.

"Yeah," he murmured. "For now, yeah. How about you? Anything I should know before we reach the compound?"

Natasha couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips.

"Well, for one, Thor has short hair now."

Clint gaped. "No way! Does he look ugly, or do his stupidly perfect space genes stop that from happening?"

Natasha shook her head with a laugh. "Unfortunately, it's the latter."

Clint rolled his eyes. "God, he's too perfect. I hope we uncover some super dark secret soon, make him seem more.."

"Imperfect," Natasha finished in agreement, a small nod of the head accompanying her statement.

"Anything else?" Clint prompted, his previously humorous gaze reverting back to the solemn one.

"Well, there's a few aliens hanging around now. A talking raccoon and some chick named Carol."

Clint nodded. "Strange. That it?"

Natasha remained silent for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to through one last detail in or not. Finally, she answered.

"No. During the battle before.. you know, Loki fought on our side. Saved a lot of our asses, actually."

Clint watched her with wide eyes and a parted jaw for a few moments. Then, he laughed.

"You aren't talking about Thor's brother, are you? That can't be the same planet-invading Asgardian freak I think you're talking about. He's a new guy, right? From Mars or something?"

Natasha met his gaze steadily. "No. It's the same Loki. The same Loki who attacked New York a few years ago. The same Loki who infiltrated SHIELD, the same Loki who placed you under mind control."

Clint gaped at her, and before he could say anything Natasha continued.

"It wasn't him, Clint. There was a bigger evil behind him, one pulling the strings from the shadows. Our puppet master's name is Thanos, and he's the reason everybody has disappeared. He got his hands on all six infinity stones—energy devices similar to the one that was in Vision's head created at the birth of our universe. It's all really fucked up, really," she ended with a humorless laugh. "We spent so much time worrying about threats on our own planet, we never really thought to look up."

"S-so will he..?" Clint trailed off, looking haunted. It was no secret how much Clint hated the mind control, hated Loki. Telling him the man responsible for him killing his comrades was innocent was never going to end well. Clint was taking the situation much better than Natasha thought he would be.

Natasha shook her head. "He got caught into the decimation. Faded away in Thor's arms after taking on Thanos. I can't believe I'm saying this, but once you get passed his exterior, he isn't a horrible guy. He's saved Thor countless times, saved Wanda while we fought Thanos.." She looked up to see Clint's reaction. His face was stony, emotionless, though his eyes betrayed his dark thoughts.

"Oh," was Clint's quiet response. The two old friends sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, until a sharp beeping from the cockpit.

"And that is?" Clint asked, jerked from his thoughts.

"We're here," Natasha stated simply, standing to take control of the aircraft.

…

Thor, Carol, Rhodey, Steve and Rocket were outside within a moment, Bruce being informed by FRIDAY as they made a quick exit of the Compound. Bruce had promised to get a signal to the spacecraft, giving them permission to land. Rhodey wore his suit, Steve had his shields from Wakanda, Rocket had a blaster and Thor was ready to call Stormbreaker.

They stood on the lawn outside of the compound, gazing up at the night sky. Thor shifted from foot to foot, suddenly feeling anxious about the confrontation. What if he got his hopes up for nothing? It could be nothing but a mere Ravager ship, or even pirates. There was no telling who was up there. They could only hope.

Suddenly, one of the stars became larger. And larger, and larger, until a ship was visible. Rocket cocked his blaster, standing on Rhodey's shoulder.

"And we're sure this isn't Nat?" Rhodey asked. Carol looked about ready to smack him atop the head.

"No. The signal was off-world, idiot," Rocket answered for her with his usual snark.

"Is it Tony?" Rhodey asked after a pause. Carol let out a huff of frustration and Rocket smacked the side of his helmet with his blaster.

"We don't know, jackass," Rocket snapped.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," Rhodey muttered. Thor watched as the ship got closer. He was starting to be able to make out the features, and—to everybody else's alarm, he let out a breathy laugh.

It was the Commodore.

"What're you laughing at, Sparkles?" Carol asked, turning to look at them.

"Stand down, my friends. There will be no fight today," Thor informed, loosening his defensive stance and marching over to meet the ship as it set down on the lawn.

"Are you sure, Thor?" Steve called out after him, and Thor simply waved him off. The ramp opened at the back of the ship, fog billowing out after it. Three silhouettes stood; one larger, bulky even, another feminine looking, and the last smaller. Thor rubbed his hands together, waiting as the smoke cleared out. The three figures revealed themselves.

First stepped out Korg, a few loose stones dropping from his body.

"Hey, man!" He greeted. "Not a Doug yet, bro!" He gave Thor a pat on the shoulder. Meik stepped out after him, giving Thor a some-what wave with his knife-hands.

Last came a dishevelled looking Valkyrie, hair tied up similar to how it was on Sakaar. She carried her dragonfang blade, and she scanned the ranks of faces thoughtfully. When her eyes landed on Thor, her lips formed a soft smile. Thor remained rooted to the spot as she stopped in front of him.

"Your majesty," she said with a familiar sarcastic glint, bowing mockingly.

"Valkyrie," Thor replied, smiling as she looked up to meet his gaze again.

"I take it the Statesman went boom?" She asked, tilting her head in question. Thor's face dropped.

"Yeah. The only survivors were me, Loki, and Bruce after you left."

"Left? More like you shoved me into an escape pod and sent me on my way!" Valkyrie's voice became angry. Thor frowned.

"I was trying to protect you."

"My job is to protect you!" Valkyrie snapped. "I'm a Valkyrie! I swore allegiance to the throne and you happen to have sat upon that throne before it exploded!"

"I couldn't watch anybody else die," he whispered.

"Well I spent the last however many days thinking you were dead," Valkyrie huffed. Thor dropped his gaze as Valkyrie brushed passed him to greet Bruce.

"How's it going, big guy?" Her greeting met his ears faintly. Thor sighed and followed after them as they went inside, falling in step with Rocket.

"Girl troubles?" He asked, and Thor scoffed.

"You could say that," he mumbled. He sighed and flopped on the couch the moment they made it to the common room. Valkyrie sat as far away from him as possible, obviously still mad, and started up conversation with Carol. Meik hung around Korg, who had gone up to Steve. Thor could hear what he was saying.

"Hey, man! I'm Korg, this is Meik, we're friends of Thor's. Helped me start a revolution."

"Revolution?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Yeah, man! Revolution against the Grandmaster! Really weird fellow, ruler of a planet called Sakaar. I tried to start a revolution before Thor came, but didn't print enough pamphlets, so only my mum and her boyfriend showed up. They threw me into a gladiators match and imprisoned me."

Steve began asking question about Sakaar, probably hoping to learn a bit more about space. Thor turned his attention away and looked back over to Valkyrie. She laughed at something Carol said, and Carol was smiling, too. The Valkyrie had a right to be mad; he had driven her forcefully away from her duties, after all. But he did it to protect her. He'd lost his mother, his father, the sister he never even knew he had, his best friend, and his brother. He couldn't lose her too.

"Hey, Thor!" Bruce called. Thor looked over immediately.

"Yes?" He called back, vaulting over the couch and walking over to where Bruce stood over the tracking device.

"There was only one ship, right?" Bruce asked, looking up briefly to meet the mis-matched eyes of Thor.

"That's correct, yes," Thor confirmed. "Why?"

"Because there's another ship. And its approaching the compound rapidly."

…

"Well, shit!"

Loki looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow; Bucky placed his hands over Cooper's ears and hissed, "Language!"

"What did you do this time?" Stephen asked, rolling his eyes exasperatedly.

"I left my gun somewhere."

"How responsible of you," Bucky deadpanned.

"I swear I had it on me!" Sam argued.

"Do you always fight like this?" Quill asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes!" Sam and Bucky answered at the same time. Loki exchanged a glance with Stephen, who seemed to be the only other sane person in their group—well, sane and above the age of 18.

"Hey, guys, I hear something again," Spider-boy piped up. Loki was still annoyed he didn't know the kid's name.

"Oh, you've found another thing to almost kill us?" Sam asked in a huff. Fenris growled a warning and lashed his tail, smacking into the tree that called himself Groot.

"I am Groot!" He huffed

"Oh, stop whining," Drax snapped, and Groot rolled his eyes.

"How about instead of squabbling like a band of fools we continue with the task at hand?"

Loki let his narrowed green gaze wander around the group, who were all staring at him now. At least their mouths were closed, Loki mused. They were trying—keyword being trying—to come up with a way to alert people nearby of their presence. It'd be a lot easier than wandering around trying to locate others themselves, as the Spider-boy pointed out. Sam had offered to shoot a few rounds in the air, but since his gun was missing that was a no-go.

"Sorcerer," Loki addressed, turning to Stephen. The man in question turned from the spell he was trying to cast to lock eyes with Loki.

"Better than wizard," he mumbled, before nodding at Loki to continue.

"Perhaps we could use magic?" Loki suggested, lifting his hand to show the green energy pulsing at his fingertips.

"How can you teleport people if you don't know where they are?" Stephen asked. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Not teleport, you fool. I meant as a signal. In the air, of course!" Stephen eyes lit up with understanding

"That could work," he agreed, nodding slightly. Loki scoffed.

"Of course it will. I suggested it."

"Oh, yeah, and that turn you 'suggested' about a quarter-mile back? The one that led us to a cliff that almost killed us?" Quill piped up.

Loki pointed a finger at him. "That was one time."

"Alright, ladies, break it up!" Sam said, pushing between the pair. Loki snarled.

"Says the one who was just arguing with Bucky like an old married—"

"That's enough, all of you!" Stephen snapped. "Loki. Are we doing this, or not?"

Loki sighed. "Yes, yes, we're doing it."

Loki lifted his hand in the air the same time Stephen began some intricate hand-gestures. Green magic flared from his fingertips and swirled up into the sky, creating a contrast against the orange of the Soul Stone. Stephen cast a spell into the sky, turning the fading green wisps into butterflies. Cooper awed at the sight, standing on his toes. The spider-boy had a similar reaction.

"That's so cool!" The pair said at the same time.

"Mr. Strange, can you teach me magic?" The Spider-kid asked, turning to the wizard. Stephen narrowed his eyes.

"It takes years to master, and I'm not quite sure how Tony'd—"

"Guys!" Bucky interrupted, standing next to Mantis at the tree-line.

"I think someone's coming," Mantis declared.

"Your signal worked!" Drax added, turning to Loki and Stephen. Stephen nodded while Loki bowed dramatically. Bucky and Mantis were right; a moment later, Loki could hear footsteps coming from the forest. He walked over to Fenris, placing a hand just behind his ear to ensure he wouldn't attack whoever appeared—they could be civilian, after all.

The undergrowth parted, and a familiar young woman pushed through, accompanied by a young girl carrying a toddler. Loki immediately recognized the woman.

"Foster?"

…

Everybody rushed outside to meet a blue-and-orange ship landing on the lawn next to the Commodore. Rocket seemed to recognize the ship, because he laughed and ran on all-fours.

"Yes! It's the Guardians! That's Quill's ship!" The exclaimed as he hurried passed Steve and Carol. As he slowed, he got back on two feet (again, paws? Idk.) Thor tried to stand next to Valkyrie, but the moment he came close she noticed him and hurried off to where Korg and Meik were. Thor let out a defeated sigh and took his place next to Bruce.

"She'll warm up eventually," the scientist offered. "Just give her time. I'm sure she'll get over it."

Thor nodded, watching the back of the ship open up into a ramp. There stood a blue cyborg-like alien, her clothes almost dipped in a mixture of grease and oil. Behind her, Tony Stark himself.

"Oh, Tones! Thank god!" Rhodey exclaimed, pushing past everyone else. He pulled his best friend into a hug, giving him a few pats on the back for good measure. Tony grunted in response.

As the two men hugged, Thor turned his attention to Rocket. The raccoon's face had fallen, and he slowly walked up to the blue cyborg-alien coming off the ship behind Tony.

"Nebula? Where's everyone else?" He asked. Thor could tell he already knew the answer. Quill and the Guardians had faded away with half the universe.

"I'm sorry, rodent. I couldn't save any of them," Nebula murmured. Rocket lowered his gaze, before turning away and walking back inside the compound. Thor was about to go after him, but Bruce placed a hand on his forearm.

"Probably best we give him space," Bruce advised. Thor nodded and turned back to Tony and Rhodey. The two had broken apart, Tony's broken gaze scanning the ranks in front of him.

"Where's Pepper?"

"Been trying to get a hold of her and Happy for a while. Phone lines were shit the first couple of weeks after the.. y'know, because everybody was trying to call loved ones. The lines seemed to have crashed, not fixed yet. Not many employees left to fix it'd be my guess. I'm sure she's okay," he was quick to add, but Tony had found Steve's eyes and stumbled towards him.

"You," he hissed menacingly.

"Tony—" Rhodey started, but he was ignored.

"This all happened because of you!" Tony accused, pointing a shaky finger against the captains chest. "I told you—I warned all of you!" He turned his blazing brown gaze along the group of remaining Avengers. "I told you that we were in the Endgame! I said that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! I saw this coming six years ago, but nobody believed me!" Tony's voice was full of venom as he stumbled along the line of Avengers, hate mostly directed at a poker-faced Steve Rogers. Whatever had happened in the past few years, Thor assumed it had to do with those two.

Tony spun back around, the action making him stumble and almost fall. The genius regained his balance and stomped back towards Steve.

"I remember asking you how we'd beat this. I fucking asked you, and do you remember what you said?" Before Steve could answer, Tony continued. "You said together. I said we'd lose, you said we'd do that together, too!" Tony was spitting in Steve's face now, his whole body trembling. "Guess what, Cap? We lost. We fucking lost and you weren't there! None of you were! The kid—he—oh fuck, he's gone, and his aunt—the kid's gone, Rogers, and I fucking blame you! We lost and you weren't there!"

"The kid? What kid?" Steve asked in pure confusion.

"It doesn't matter who the kid was! He's dead! He died in my arms, on an alien planet, practically by himself! Surrounded by aliens who had just faded before him, and while they didn't know what was going on he did!"

"Tony! Come on, man. Let's just calm down.." Rhodey grabbed the man by the wrist and guided him towards the compound.

Thor watched him go, arms crossed. "I have no clue what just happened," he stated dumbly.

"Me either. Anybody care to explain?" Bruce added, mostly looking at Steve.

"I'll explain later," Steve murmured, turning to follow Rhodey and a struggling, cursing Tony.

Thor watched everybody file after him, and Thor grabbed Val by the wrist before she could follow. The warrior fixed him with a death stare.

"What?" She demanded.

"We need to talk. Now."

Thor led Valkyrie around the outside of the Compound until they came to an empty patch of grass, away from prying eyes. Thor released the Valkyrie's wrist, which she snatched back harshly.

"What do you want, your highness?"

"I want to fix whatever's going on between us," Thor huffed.

"Good luck," Valkyrie snorted.

"Val, I'm serious!" Thor started.

"And so am I," Valkyrie replied. "I'm going to go find lackey. He's at least better company, as long as he doesn't dig through my head again—"

"Loki's dead," Thor mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" Valkyrie asked. "It sounded like you just told me Loki's dead. Didn't you say when I arrived that he'd survived the Statesman?"

"He did," Thor confirmed, his voice breaking. "But when Thanos snapped, he…"

Valkyrie's face fell. "Oh," she said simply.

"That's why I sent you away. Not only to protect our people—which is one of the reasons I shoved you in a pod. I needed you as far away from Thanos as possible so you didn't, y'know die."

"Dying is kind of my job," Valkyrie pointed out.

"Yes, but it doesn't have to be. When I watched my brother crumple away to dust in my arms, I knew I had made the right decision in sending you away."

"I could have still died; the snap affected the entire universe," Valkyrie pointed out bluntly.

Thor smiled. "Yes, you could have. But I wouldn't have had to watch you die. I could go on not knowing for sure if you were dead or not. I'd at least have hope. But, you're alive, so all of that didn't matter."

"So, you were only protecting yourself from getting hurt is what you're saying?"

"What—no, that's not—"

"You're only digging a deeper hole for yourself, Lord of Thunder," Valkyrie snapped. Before Thor could stop her, she turned and left. Thor let out a defeated groan. He looked up with a sad blue eye, his fake amber eye staring lifelessly along side it.

"Brother, you were always better with words, weren't you? I guess I didn't give you enough credit for your silver tongue. I've only made a mess of things." He allowed a sad smile to spread across his features, looking down to the ground again. "If you were here, you'd probably tell me to stop being a sentimental fool. Which would probably be followed up with some advice. Unfortunately for me I didn't get the wisdom in our family," Thor snorted, raising his head again. "You aren't here to tell me what to do next. You promised me when we were children that when I became king, you'd stand beside me as my advisor. Tell me, brother, why is it the fates have chosen you to not stand at all?"

Thor looked up at the darkening sky, awaiting an answer. When none came, his blue eye shifted from grief to determination. "Thanos turned you into dust, baby brother. But I swear to you I will pick up each tiny grain and glue you together myself if it means I get you back. That madman will cause you harm no longer. He won't be able to after I remove his head from his body with Stormbreaker."

Thor turned to head back into the compound, before stopping and uttering two last words to a brother he knew probably couldn't hear him.

"I promise."

...

One Favourite = One Carol x Valkyrie vote

One review = One Loki x Valkyrie vote

(i love both ships and i can't decide, so unless you specify in your comment that u want carol x val, its going as loki x val. thanks y'all!)