A Feather's Trick ➸ Loki fanfiction

Chapter 16

I hoped everyone would return to the Avengers facility, though I didn't expect them to. I imagined Clint returning to his family on the farm, how thrilled they would be. When he told me they had decided to name their son after Pietro, I cried on the spot. I thought Wanda would take it worse than me, but Vision seemed to comfort her.

I spent the next few days doing nothing but mourning Pietro. My heart still felt as broken as it had when I last I held him. I kept imagining what it would have been like if he had come back with us. It felt like everyone had moved on so quickly, and I was the only one left who cared that he was gone.

I walked with Tony, Steve and Thor. Thor was returning to Asgard. I tried to convince him, over and over again to take me with him. He kept making up excuses. He told me I was grieving, and should do so on Midguard.

"We're dealing with something new." Tony began.

"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." Steve agreed.

"A machine."

"So it doesn't count."

"No. It's not like a person lifting the hammer." Tony reasoned.

"Right. Different rules for us." Steve agreed.

"Nice guy, but artificial." Tony added.

"Thank you." Steve emphasized.

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply." Thor threw in.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator..." Steve wondered.

"It would still go up." Tony broke through.

"Elevator's not worthy." Steve pointed out.

"I'm going to miss these little talks of ours." Thor chuckled.

"Well, not if you don't leave." Tony reminded him.

"I have no choice." The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence." Thor sighed.

"Let me come with you. I can help." I insisted.

"No. You must stay here. Besides, the Avengers need you more than I do." He meant it as a compliment, but it stung.

"I may never see Asgard again! I've redeemed myself, I understand my mistakes now." I argued, urging him to see reason.

"It is not my choice to make." He smiled at me sympathetically.

"If it's to do with the Infinity Stones, this is not something you can face alone." I murmured lowly so only he could hear.

"I won't be alone." He straightened up. "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position..." Thor trailed off.

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony finished.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"I do. Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained. Help them, Luft." Thor smiled at me once more. The Bifrost's light shone, blinding Steve and Tony. I stared at it longingly until my eyes teared up. He was back in Asgard in an instant, leaving a burnt circle in the grass behind.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance. I'm gonna miss him though." Tony added as we followed him to his car. "And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

"I will miss you, Tony." Steve looked at him.

"Me too." I piped up, surprising myself.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up."

"The simple life." Steve concluded.

"You'll get there one day." He reassured Steve. "Both of you."

"I don't know, family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out." Steve replied solemnly. I looked at him warily, unsure of my own stance on the matter. Tony turned to get into his car.

"You alright?" He asked.

"I'm home." Steve answered.

"Whatever Thor finds will be dangerous." I admitted out loud.

"We can handle it." Steve reassured me. I looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"I admire your confidence, Steve. But I don't think we can, at least not the way we stand now." I said. He smiled. "What?"

"You said 'we' you know?" His smile was almost contagious. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'm back. I know."

"It's good to have you back, Luft." He admitted quietly. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"It's good to be back." I smiled slightly at him.

We found Natasha standing alone.

"You want to keep staring at the wall, or do you want to go to work? I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall." Steve asked her.

"I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes." She retorted.

"Trust me, they were. I practically had to tear them off each other." I teased.

"What? We were not." Steve complained.

"How do we look?" She turned serious.

"Well, we're not the '27 Yankees." Steve handed her a tablet.

"We've got some hitters." She nodded.

"They're good. They're not a team." Steve admitted.

"Let's beat 'em into shape."

"I excel at beating." I smirked, cracking my knuckles.

The three of us gathered into the training room. Rhodes in his War Machine suit, Sam in his Falcon suit, Wanda in her new suit, and Vision stood waiting. They looked powerful, but untrained.

"Avengers...!" Steve announced.