Resurrection

Chapter Sixteen: Avengers Assemble

Chapter Sixteen: Avengers Assemble

"Everyone ready?" Tony called the group. The remaining Avengers, plus Rocket, Nebula, and Ant-Man were gathered around the Black Order's ship. All of them had changed into their battle clothes and had grim expressions on their faces.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Rhodey muttered.

Tony ignored his friend. "Alright. I'm not going over the plan again since it was explained over ten million times, so I hope you know what you have to do. If not, ask Cap. He'll answer your questions because I don't want to." Tony winked at Steve.

Steve shook his head and frowned at Tony. Tony grinned back.

"This is our only chance. I know that you don't really trust the person who made this plan, but its the only one we've got. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Loki isn't the most trustworthy person in the universe, but he is better than Thanos. We don't have to trust him, because we probably will never see him again. Apparently he is dead, so there is no reason why he would trick us. He has nothing to gain from us losing," Steve said and made a point to look directly at Clint. Clint shuffled nervously. "We have to put the past behind us and focus on the here and now. According to Thor, Loki has a dark history with Thanos. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and we need all the help we can get."

With that, Steve strode up into the ship. Tony followed behind, and one by one, the others joined too.

Tony was already by the control console. There were no chairs or seats to sit in, so the heroes sat on the floor or remained standing. Steve joined Tony by the console, and the two started talking in hushed voices. They were still tense, but at least their relationship was starting to get better.

Thor was too anxious to sit, so he remained standing near Tony and Steve. Steve noticed this and motioned for Thor to come closer. Thor obliged and smiled sadly at the duo. The ship was starting to fire up, the thrusters were almost to full power. A few more seconds went by and the ship lurched forward and up into space.

"Are you sure you can fly this thing?" Steve questioned.

Tony grinned. "Relax, Capsicle. I flew it here, didn't I?"

"I thought Nebula did that," Thor said.

"I helped," Tony snapped, but his tone was good-natured and teasing.

Steve gave an exasperated sigh. "I guess some things never change."

Thor hummed and stared absentmindedly at the stars zooming by.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, shaking Thor from his thoughts.

"As fine as I will ever be," Thor muttered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Steve asked gently. He held up a hand. "I don't mean to pry, but sometimes talking helps."

"Yeah, Point Break. Tell us what's on your mind," Tony added.

"It all seems stupid for me to talk about how I feel when everyone else has worse problems than me." Thor gestured at the heroes. Natasha, Bruce, and Clint were in a deep conversation. Scott Lang and Rhodey seemed to be bonding. Rocket was still glaring daggers at Nebula, who was trying to ignore the raccoon. Shuri was back in Wakanda; her mother was too upset about losing T'Challa that she wouldn't let the teenage girl out of her sight. Shuri had complained, but the Queen wouldn't budge. Okoye had also stayed behind to protect and rebuild Wakanda.

Steve rested a hand on Thor's shoulder. "It's alright. We all have our losses, but hearing each other's problems can help us figure out our own."

Thor ran a hand through his short hair and let all his emotions flood out. "I just can't seem to win. First I lose my brother to an evil cosmic being, who corrupts him and forces him to destroy New York. Then my mother was killed by a Dark Elf. Before my father died, he told me that I had an older sister who apparently was evil. She tried to take over Asgard, and the only way to defeat her was by destroying my home. Thousands of my people were killed by her hand, but she is alive and well. I had three nephews and a niece that I tried to kill and had no idea about because my father cursed my brother, them, and myself because they were considered 'monstrosities.' I then lost half of my remaining people and my friends were killed. My brother was murdered in front of my eyes.

"I had a chance to kill Thanos, but my thirst for revenge outweighed my reasoning." Thor wiped a tear from his cheek. "You may not trust Loki, but I do. I saw him sacrifice his life for mine and the good of Asgard. I believe that his plan will work. I spent the past few years trying to convince him to do good in this world, and the day he does, he is murdered."

A sob rose in Thor's throat. He turned away from Tony and Steve and stared into the distance, his hand over his mouth. He struggled to keep himself from crying.

"I know how it feels to lose someone to the wrong side. Bucky was brainwashed, much like how you said Loki was. Although he killed dozens of innocent, and not so innocent, people, Bucky was still a good man on the inside. Loki and Bucky both fought against the impossible. Now that I think about it, Bucky and Loki have quite similar pasts. We will get our chance to avenge our friends and family. If you trust Loki's plan, I will back you up," Steve said.

"Thank you," Thor murmured.

Steve opened his arms for a hug. The two blondes had never embraced before, but the hug felt natural and surprisingly comfortable for two muscular men. The hug went on for a while, neither of the two wanting to break it. Tears started forming in Steve's eyes as well.

Tony, who didn't want to feel left out, wrapped his arms around Steve's and Thor's shoulders. "Leaving me out of things, huh? We're a team, right? We do everything together, including hugs."

Seeing the trio hug it out, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and the others joined in. Even Rocket hopped onto Thor's back and hugged the back of the Asgardian's head. Nebula even joined, but she was still uncomfortable with hugging anyone. She let her arms lightly rest on Natasha's and Bruce's shoulders.

"We're going to be alright. Everything will be fine as long as we work together," Steve said in the middle of the group, his voice muffled through all the bodies. "I appreciate all of you and I wouldn't trade you for the world. You're my friends and you helped me fit in with modern society. I'm sorry we fought and split up the team. If we were actually together, we might have won. But this is our second chance, and this time we will avenge our fallen comrades, together."

"Thank you for giving me a second chance," Natasha added.

"I have never had better friends than you," Rhodey put in.

"I hardly know any of y'all, but y'all seem cool," Rocket exclaimed.

"I know I have anger issues, but I thank you for keeping me in check," Bruce said gratefully.

"I have never met braver mortals than this group. You made me realize that all races and species are important and can make a difference," Thor said. "I also thank you for giving my brother's plan a try. It's the least I can do for him."

"I'm kind of new to this team, but even I realize how special and how strong we are together," Scott Lang added.

"I hardly know anyone, but thanks, I guess, for letting me join you to kill my father," Nebula muttered quietly.

"I'm also sorry about the whole 'Sokovia Accords' deal. I may seem self-centered and have a big ego, but you keep me grounded and you helped me realize how important my relationships are. Now, I'm only going to say this once," Tony announced and paused for dramatic effect. "Let's go kick Thanos' ass!"

The team cheered and broke apart from the hug. New found energy surged through the group. They were a team, even though they were lacking in numbers. They were brought together for one simple reason, to defend and avenge the innocent in times of need. As Nick Fury said: "There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if we could become something more; so if they needed us, we could fight the battles that they never could."

They might be marching to their deaths, but they were the freaking Avengers, and they sure as Helheim wasn't going to let Thanos get away with what he had done.