An Avenger's Tale

20|| Epilogue

When we finally returned back to the Tower, I locked myself in my room and tended to my injuries, although somewhat reluctantly. Once I tended to all my wounds, I lowered myself onto the edge of my bed and ran my fingers across the white spandex when I felt something in the pocket.

I fished it out of my pocket and opened my fingers. I gasped when I saw the Soul Stone laying in my palm, encircled by a sheen of orange. But how?

I stared into the distance as I closed my fingers around the stone and racked my mind for a memory. Then I remembered Loki bumping into me on the roof back at Times Square. Had he hid the stone in my pocket for safe-keeping without me knowing?

I sucked in a deep breath as I remembered the kiss we shared while war raged around us. The way his lips fit perfectly into mine and. . . There was a knock at the door, abruptly pulling me from my thoughts. I hurriedly buried the stone back in my pocket. "Come in."

The door slid open and my father stepped over the threshold. He had slipped out of his Iron Man suit and was dressed in a baggy jean and a black T-shirt. There were scrapes and scratches on his face, but other than that, he looked normal.

He crossed the room and gently sat down next to me on the foot of my bed. He knotted his hands together and cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. "You and Loki?"

I glanced up from my own fiddling fingers but didn't say a word. I didn't know what to tell him. Honestly, I was waiting for him to tell me how he felt about me having a relationship with Loki. "He's a villian, Sage. He's dangerous."

"He's dead, dad, and maybe he was a dangerous villian but he changed. The old Loki would never sacrifice himself for the sake of others. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be dead by now."

"He's a god. Sooner or later, you will start to age and finally you'll die. Loki will live on for the rest of eternity and even beyond that. Is that really what you want?" My father placed a hand on mine and glanced at me sadly, although his words held deep wisdom and authority.

His words had me thinking, though, and I was now more confused than ever about my relationship with the god of Mischief. "I don't know," I whispered sadly, "but it doesn't matter anymore. He's dead. Loki's dead."

My father emitted a sigh and wrapped his arms around me, crushing me to his chest. He held me like that until nightfall and then he left. I changed out of my suit and into a pair of jeans and a shirt before I dug through my drawers for my locket.

I peeled it out from beneath my clothes in the dresser and let it slip through my fingers, admiring the intricate designs and the feminism of it. I opened the locket and placed the Infinity stone inside it. It was a perfect fit. It was as if the locket was made for it.

I fastened it around my neck, glancing at myself in the mirror, before leaving my room and heading towards the room of the one Avenger I knew needed comfort right now. I banged on the metal door until he gave me permission to enter.

"Thor. . ."

The god of lightning turned around and when he saw me, his eyes welled up with tears. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around what I could of his large torso and laid my head on his chest. His strong arms wrapped around me and he cried softly into my hair.

"Shhh." I hushed him and then he stepped away, looking wearily at me and my heart broke into tinier pieces at the hurt and presence of loss that swivelled behind his irises. "He didn't die in vain."

"He cared about you, Sage, he really did."

"I know," my voice trailed off and I averted my gaze to hide the tears that fell from my eyes. "I loved him and I always will but he saved us. He wouldn't want us to mourn him, he'd want us to prosper in our victory."