Real-Life Myth

Twenty-seven.

2014!Nebula has captured 2023!Nebula and is fighting her future self. "You're weak," she remarks.

"I'm you," 2023 counters. 2014 throws a punch straight at 2023. Gamora walks into the room.
"You can stop this. You know you want to. Did you see what happens in the future? Thanos finds the Soul Stone. You wanna know how he does that? You wanna know what he does to you?" 2023 asks the former version of her sister.

"That's enough. You disgust me," 2014 declares. "But that doesn't mean you're useless." 2014 steals the golden plate on the side of 2023's face and wears it herself. "How do I look?" She looks to Gamora.

~~~

Natasha, Lana, and Clint arrive on Vormir. The raven looks around the place, shakily exhaling. Natasha sets a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Lana looks to it and smiles faintly. Clint looks around as well.

"Wow. . . Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome," he remarks. Lana laughs, easing out some of the tension in her body. Natasha, Lana, and Clint start walking towards the mountain and climb it.

"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain," Natasha remarks.

"Technically, he's not a raccoon, you know," Lana tells him. Clint nods in agreement.

"Whatever. He eats garbage," Natasha fires. Lana smirks.

"Welcome," Red Skull greets. Natasha and Clint draw their weapons. Lana flexes her fingers, green mist spewing from them. Red Skull, however, doesn't back down. "Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith." His eyes find Lana and he takes a step back. "Lana, daughter of Laufey." She frowns. Natasha as well looks shocked.

"Who are you?" She presses.

"Consider me a guide. To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone."

Lana rolls her eyes. "She was really asking for a name, dipshit." If he could, Red Skull would raise an eyebrow.

"Don't mind her." Red Skull nods. "You tell us where the Stone is. Then we'll be on our way."

"If only it were that easy," Lana remarks. Red Skull looks to her and nods approvingly. He leads the three of them to the cliff.

"What you seek lies in front of you. . . as does what you fear."

Lana raises an eyebrow (because she is fully capable of doing so). "Why do you have to be so cryptic? Just tell them the bad crap and get it over with."

"The stone is down there," Natasha states, not paying any attention to Lana.

"For two of you. For the other. . . In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul." Lana nods.

"Thank you!" She exclaims. Clint and Natasha look to her. "See, you really need to stop being so cryptic. I, of course, knew this already." She taps her temple. "Burdened with an infinite amount of knowledge and everything." She turns to Clint and Natasha. "I did, of course, warn you two. But what were your words? Hm?" Clint hangs his head. "'Look, Princess, I think we'll take our chances'?" She crosses her arms over her chest.

"So what? You came to gloat?" Clint asks, looking up. "To- to rub it in our faces that one of us will have to die?" Natasha sits down on a log, her head in her hands. "We could just sacrifice you!"

Lana makes a tsk-tsk sound with her tongue. "Would you really sacrifice a single mother?" She asks. Clint stops, his heart sinking. "Where would my sweet Athena go then? Her father died in the snap!" Clint looks away. Lana holds her head up. "No. I did not come here to gloat. I came to help." Clint scoffs.