//------------------------------// // Chapter 137 – The Old World // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 137 Asgard Year: 2013 2:41 p.m. Thor, Rocket, Groot, and Rarity sent a glance into Loki’s cell before hastily making their way out of the prison. The God of Mischief didn’t even see them, tossing an object up to the ceiling as he lay on his bedside with a rather bored expression etched on his features. It wasn’t overselling it to say that Rarity was in pure shock and awe once they entered the pearly gates and golden kingdom of Asgard, the realm of the gods. As they entered the royal palace, all Rarity could see was the majestic architecture, the exquisite dresses and suits from the Asgardian men and women strolling the halls, and, of course, the royal armor for the Asgardian soldiers guarding the palace. Just seeing so many beautiful forms of attire, the artistry of the palace itself, and the pure glory that Asgard brought sent Rarity’s mind and creativity on overdrive. The amount of inspiration laid before her was almost too tempting not to jot down. She could have only wished to have visited Asgard years ago, back when all they had to worry about was an evil robot trying to take over Equestria. So much changed. Her home, her world, her friends… but mostly herself. The inspiration for new dresses and suits were there, but there was no intuition to drive it. That skill she used to have as a fashionista and seamstress just wasn’t as vibrant as it once was. Thanos came and changed all of that, put her behind a desk helping ponies and people who needed fresh clothing and food. Even then, that longing to return to what once was still burned like a faint light within her soul, Rarity casting the gorgeous Asgardian dresses one last longing gaze before Rocket hissed at her to hurry along. No one within the palace walls saw them. Rocket ensured his team snuck in without so much as a hint that they were there. Thor, Groot, and Rarity made it difficult for him, but he managed. Years of practice and training paid off in the end, and they stood just mere yards away from the doors that separated them from none other than Jane Foster. Thor’s lone eye gazed for a moment longer on Jane’s smile to the Asgardian that led her to her room, the God of Thunder hesitating on his end. Even to breathe. Like she had before, Jane simply took his breath away with that gorgeous smile. The doors were closed, Jane Foster hidden from his sight and allowing him to move again into cover. His eye flicked downwards to the small syringe in Rocket’s paws, a breath of unease entering him when he returned to the mission at hand. Thankfully, the GPSes got Thor and his team to the correct date and location, long before the Dark Elf attack on Asgard but just when Jane was brought to the palace to study the Aether that swarmed within her. With her alone in her quarters, it was a prime opportunity for Thor to go inside, woo her, and allow Rocket to jam the syringe into her and suck out the Reality Stone. It was not a good plan. Not by any means. But it was the only plan they had and they had the tools to finish the job. All they needed was the will to go through with it. Rarity was as determined as could be, nodding to Rocket and Groot once the halls were clear and nothing separated them from Jane’s room. All except for one person. “Okay, I think we’re clear,” Rocket whispered, hopping off the stone railing and approaching the twin set of doors standing before them. With syringe in paw, Rocket waved the others behind him forward, specifically calling to one of their own. “Thor, you’re gonna lead us in and…” He counted Rarity and Groot on his right and left, but not sign of the big guy. Twisting his neck back, Rocket nearly snarled when he saw the god in question simply standing there, leaning against the nearest pillar with his gaze centered to his feet. “Thor!” Rocket hissed. Both Groot and Rarity turned appropriately, Rarity sighing to see Thor in the state he was in. The gray T-shirt and dark jeans made him appear anything other than godly, the Asgardian runes on his jacket hardly helping in that area. His fingerless gloves were dirty and torn, and his scruffy, golden beard lay lazily against his facial features. Long dreadlocks of blond and graying hair hung from his head, the singular eyepatch attached to his right eye facing to the floor, just as his other eye had. Though with his broad shoulders and muscular physique still intact, Thor appeared broken and weak. He was drooping, head hanging low and shoulders deflated. Rarity felt a pang of distress fill her, those curious and wounded eyes gazing to Thor longer and longer. Flinching to his name, Thor tilted his gaze forward and blinked. “What?” “What are you doing?” Rocket growled, rushing on all fours to stand before the god. Rarity and Groot followed suit, gazing sadly to Thor. It didn’t help to see Thor’s expression break when Rocket pointed back and hissed, “Get your ass over there so we can finish this!” A set of doors opened, Rocket’s heart jumping while Thor’s simply stopped. The two of them, Groot, and Rarity all turned accordingly, but were somewhat relieved to know it wasn’t Jane’s doors that opened. Instead, the doors that opened came from across the palace halls, the team of four instantly ducking to cover and peeking out to catch their intruders. Rocket allowed his heart to maintain that soft, controlled beat… While Thor’s remained frozen. Not even concerned about his current state any longer, Thor rose up but was thankfully out of the group’s line of sight. Groot, Rarity, and Rocket eventually followed, every last one of them staring to the group of Asgardian women trailing down the winding hallways of the palace. “Who’s the fancy broad?” Rocket asked, obviously referring to the woman in decorative robes and jewelry leading the group, the blue sash surrounding her neck being he most obvious cue. Even Rocket felt his heart skip a beat when Thor said it. “My mother…” he said, voice utterly devoid of any hope or life. “She dies today.” “What?” Rarity whispered, a pained whimper on the edge of her tongue as she turned to the God of Thunder. His expression remained unmoved, staring only to his mother’s fading backside. Her ears drooped and her expression took a turn for the worst, the sadness mixed with the pain, the same pain that Thor shared. Rocket cringed at that, slowly turning back to Thor. “Oh… that’s today?” He broke off from the group once his breathing took a turn for the worst, the god stumbling about on the palace floors and shaking his head. “I can’t do this,” Thor breathed, covering his face with a shivering palm. He leaned against the nearest pillar he could find, his fingers tightening against the solid stone and cracking it. “I-I can’t do this.” Of all times for him to have a mental breakdown, now was not the time. Rocket bit his lip, twisting his head back to the women making their exit and quickly back to Thor. He hopped off the railing, jamming a finger in his direction. “Thor, listen—!” Rocket hissed. “I am Groot!” The raccoon jammed his claw over Groot’s lips, leaping upwards and grabbing Groot’s head, forcing him to duck down so they wouldn’t be seen. “Shh, Groot!” Rocket whispered sharply, peeking over and watching as the Asgardian women merely cast a curious glance in their direction before retiring elsewhere. Frigga lasted a moment longer, but eventually turned and walked away. While Rocket scolded Groot and Thor continued to panic, there stood Rarity in the heart of the madness, uncertain where to turn or what to do. Eventually—somewhat forcefully—she turned her attention over to the one who needed it most. Thor was on the brink of collapse, his own knees shivering as his body quaking under the pressure placed upon him. Rarity knew that pressure. She bore it the day they were given a second chance to fix everything. Others didn’t bear it as well as her. Some of her own friends… and even Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Even the mightiest of them all… Taking that apprehensive hoofstep towards him, Rarity called out quietly, calmly, to the God of Thunder. “Darling… please, you must listen to us.” He ignored her, almost as if he didn’t even hear her. “I knew we shouldn’t have come here,” Thor whispered painfully, hand falling from his face and lazily swinging by his side. He pushed all of his pressure onto the pillar, nearly collapsing because of that. “Not this year, not now. May have been the safest and easiest, but… No, not now. I think I’m having a panic attack. Yeah, definitely.” He was sporadic. He was rambling about what could have been instead of what was and what they needed to accomplish. Instead of falling prey to the same darkness that clouded his actions, Rarity stood her ground and closed her eyes. She listened to the chaos surrounding her and somehow managed to block it away from her, from what really mattered. In that serenity, Rarity found her purpose. She found the sole reason she even agreed to the Time Heist, to risking her life, to sacrificing it all in the first place. Someone else may have forgotten that. So, when she opened her eyes, nothing but a pure fire burned in each pupil. “Thor, look at me.” That same fire filled her voice, giving her the necessary authority over the group, even if it was just for a moment. It was a moment they needed, especially for Thor. And she made sure that it was Thor alone who saw her, the God of Thunder slowly turning in accordance to her call. Though not truly breaking away from his grip on the pillar, Thor spun far enough to see her eyes and fall into the fire. “I know how you must feel,” Rarity began, the Arc Reactor burning bright over her heart and only amplifying the strength that left it and her voice. “You feel like you betrayed a part of yourself, that you could have done something different—maybe—and things wouldn’t have turned out… the way they did. You wish you could go back… and stop from freezing on the spot.” Thor was breathless at that, his lone eye widening in surprise to her statement. He was only breathless for the reason that she seemed to see even deeper than his thoughts. She saw into what mattered and remembered the events that played through that wretched day. What could’ve been… what they failed to do… everything laid out and nothing hidden. Five years ago, he froze at the Garden. He listened to the others when he very well could have killed Thanos right then and there, taken the Stones, and brought everyone back. Instead, he hesitated. He turned away and the Infinity Stones were destroyed because of that. Every single day, Thor could only look back and wonder what could have changed. Maybe they could have won that day five years ago. And very well, Rarity was breathless at that. At her own statement. Like Thor, she too froze against the Mad Titan. She froze against Thanos at the Badlands. While her friends at the Titan constrained, all they asked of her was to help pull off the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos would lose his means of power and he would therefore have lost. But he didn’t lose. Rarity didn’t act. Their actions, had they done the opposite, could have very well changed the outcome of the universe. For five years, Thor had only blamed himself for the deaths of trillions of lives, knowing he could never avenge them. Now… Rarity came to him speaking of an even greater guilt than his own. One that came before the God of Thunder made that decision to freeze and turn away. One that could have very well ended the war sooner, prevented everything. It was all Rarity could think about as she turned her eyes away, a shaking breath leaving her. She said, “Not a day goes by where I wish I could have done something different. Not a day. I lost a lot of friends and family that were important to me. So many others lost even more than that. I will not blame you for what happened that day, just as I hope to not blame myself. Just as I hope for others to do the same. Even if you feel as if you deserve all of it… you can’t bear that pain alone.” She was crying, burning tears slipping down her cheeks and falling to the marble flooring. A sharp cry left her, but neither Rocket nor Groot seemed to try and stop her. They were trapped in their conversation, hanging on the sideline but still well enveloped within Rarity’s words. Thor, just the same, made no attempt to stop or quiet her down, because he simply couldn’t. Rarity lifted her tear-filled eyes and turned back to him, her lips pursed with a painful shake of her head. “Because you simply can’t bear the weight of the universe.” Thor’s lips closed, that pained acceptance showcased on his features as he absorbed her words. Even then, Rarity continued, hoof held to him. “No matter what happened in the past, we can still have a future that we can save. Trillions of lives brought back from our combined efforts, all of our mistakes finally to be rectified… but only if we do this right. We need to ignore the past… and only focus on the now. On the future.” Her hoof fell and impacted the marble floor. It was so utterly quiet that her impact echoed across the halls. She smiled, another tear slipping down to touch that smile. With a shaking exhale, she closed her eyes and dropped her head. “That alone is something we can change,” Rarity whispered and finished. With nothing more to add, Rarity let her sniffles fill the silence between them. Rocket and Groot were unable to speak, flicking their eyes back and forth between the unicorn and the god, almost waiting for something to happen. Something they couldn’t control. That weight alone once more returned to Thor, the God of Thunder staring intensely to the unicorn for several seconds longer. He mulled over her words, saw only the truth within them and turned aside to consider it. He truly had missed his home. Asgard never looked more gorgeous. But he turned away. Thor turned away from the past and faced Rarity. Falling to his knee and laying his mighty palm on her shoulder, Thor waited until the unicorn’s expression rose to meet his, waited for her tears to clear the senses until all the focus was centered on him. And when she did, when she was silent, Thor spoke to her. “Rarity, my friend… if I had known the torment you went through all those years… the mistakes we both made… then perhaps I would have known how to forgive myself. Perhaps these five years would have progressed better not only for Asgard and my people… but for myself. You feel my pain because it is your own. I feel you just as well.” His palm tightened onto her, hard enough to make a statement… but gentle enough for Rarity to feel that same compassion she held towards him. She could only feel a friend when he held her, that simply grip that told her everything she needed to know and more. She slowly began to smile, mirroring Thor’s own. Then he grinned, that closed smile giving a certain strength to Thor that he hadn’t felt in five years. And it was all directed to her. “But like you said… we cannot focus on the past any longer. The future we save… as a team… awaits us,” he said assuredly. It was exactly what she wanted and needed to hear. Until she was brimming with both tears and a smile to boot, one that rivaled Thor’s own. Just as quickly as it awakened, Rarity’s smile was frozen and shattered by the sudden voice rising behind Thor. “Can I help you?” While others flinched in accordance to that voice, Thor took an entirely different approach. He grabbed Rarity by her shoulder and flung her towards the ceiling with god-like strength, the unicorn’s screams fading from existence the farther she flew up. Rocket’s jaw fell. Groot’s hand rose up to cover his agape mouth. Thor merely did so because he knew that voice standing right behind him. He knew it as clear as any given moment. And he forced himself to spin around to face her. Finally coming to face to face with his mother. “Thor?” Frigga asked, somewhat taken aback as to her son’s actions. Her eyes flicked forward past him, gazing to the raccoon and living tree. Thor took a defensive stance in front of them, trying to make himself as large as possible. She observed him from top to bottom, furrowing her brow. “What are you doing in here? And what are you wearing?” “Wh-what are you talking about? This is—this is my favorite shirt!” Thor exclaimed, brushing his jacket and shirt and jamming his palms into his pockets. Despite his efforts, Frigga still managed to peak over and around his shoulders, pointing over to Rocket and Groot who tried to remain hidden behind their larger Avenger. “Who are your friends?” she asked, stepping past her son and fully observing them. Thor stepped in front of her, blocking her path. That earned a frustrated frown from the Queen of Asgard, watching as her son simply held out his hand to them and explained, “Oh, them? They’re just a couple of friends I picked up in Vanaheim. They’ll be staying with us for a few days while we help repair their village from the battle earlier.” He held out his hands to emphasize each point as clearly and concisely as possible. The screams from before returned, Rarity falling and landing directly into Thor’s awaiting hands. Frigga’s amused smile fell down to the unicorn, her curious eyes meeting Rarity’s terrified ones. They quickly shot back up, that smirk rising to Thor’s horrified expression. “I don’t recall… magical talking ‘ponies’ being native to Vanaheim,” Frigga said with that same growing smirk. That victorious grin. And her son only continued to fall from that point forward. He was pushed into a corner with no hope for escape, his words failing him to come up with a clear excuse as to why he was holding a talking pony. She could see the sweat streaming down his forehead, but more importantly… she saw the eyepatch and the battle scars. So much like his father. The wearied, aged skin. The broken soul. Everything laid out for her to see and understand. A sad smile replaced the victory, her hand rising up and gracing her son’s cheek. And Thor—for a brief moment—shuddered against her touch. He nearly collapsed, having not known his mother’s warming embrace for so, so long. When he opened his last remaining eye, he could see that pained understanding brimming in her eyes. “You’re not the Thor I know… are you?” she asked. “What are you talking about?” Thor asked, again pushing for more denial. “Of course I am!” Her hand remained on his cheek, rising up to caress the skin around his right eyepatch. Her expression broke at that, almost sharing his agony. “The future hasn’t been kind to any of you, has it?” Rocket grumbled a curse word that Rarity dare not repeat, while Groot merely sighed, the two Guardians knowing the gig was up. Rarity, meanwhile, was simply shocked at how Thor’s mother knew of their origin so easily. Still lying in Thor’s arms, Rarity turned her astonished expression to Frigga, asking, “How did you know—?” She raised her finger to the unicorn. “I was raised by witches, child,” she replied with a knowing smile. “I see with more than mere eyes.” Rarity fell silent after that, turning instead to see Thor’s expression. He was latched solely to her, nearly crumbling as his mother returned his gaze. Her palm caressed his cheek once again, Thor gasping at that. Frigga’s lips quivered, the tears threatening to form but nothing escaping. She didn’t allow it. She merely said, “Tell me what’s happened.” “Mother,” Thor stated in a painful gasp, releasing the unicorn from his arms so he could fully embrace her. Rarity landed on her hooves and back away, watching with a warming smile as the heartfelt display between mother and son was finally brought to fruition. After all Thor had spoken of her, knowing what happens to her that day, Rarity was at least glad to see them make that final amends. Before… Rarity kept her lips sealed, daring to not change what is meant to occur. She simply couldn’t risk it… no matter how much it hurt. Instead, she walked alongside Rocket and Groot as they followed both mother and son towards Jane Foster’s quarters, Thor explaining in quick detail their reasoning for being there, for traveling to the past and hopefully trying to undo their future. Frigga was exceptionally skilled in absorbing that information quickly, truly managing to understand their plight. Just as Thor got to the part about killing Thanos, they had reached the doors… and Thor stopped talking. Halted his own mother as she reached to open the door. “Wait, wait…” he said, voice a terrified whisper. Frigga turned to him, only to see that terror lace his remaining eye as he gazed to the towering doors, more sweat starting to stream down his forehead. It was just then that she started to understand further. The future had turned out very poorly for the Asgardian people… but for her son… he practically lost everything. Including her. His flame. With a supportive smile, she laid her hands over his and met his eye. “She would really like to see you. More than you could ever know. Do yourselves a favor… and open that door.” It took more courage than Thor would have liked to admit. But after seeing the supportive smiles from both Rarity and Groot—ignoring the bemused eye roll from Rocket—Thor took in a much-needed breath for caution. He laid his gloved-hands on the door, pushing them gently aside to allow everyone with him to enter behind him. He was the first one inside, the first to gaze upon the wilting sunset and the long, lovely dress adorned on the equally-as-lovely Jane Foster. She turned to the doors, a look of ease filling her features when she saw him. “Thor?” He faced her alone, a look of utter pain filling his features in response. “… Jane?” It was as if nothing else in the world or the Nine Realms mattered. For the life of him, Thor could not recall his mission nor the pony or the people who stood by his sides. All that mattered was the mere moment shared between him and his beloved Jane. Even Jane didn’t seem to notice the unicorn, the raccoon, or Groot, for the moment anyway. She ran forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his broad shoulders, around his neck, to allow herself to kiss him. And did she ever kiss him. Even if it was but a brief moment apart, Jane felt like light years had passed and even managed to keep them separated. She pushed onto him with the intent to know how much she dearly desired for him, how much he meant to her, all of which he already knew and treasured. For Thor, he hadn’t felt the lips of another in many a year, especially hers. To feel that familiar warmth and love return to him was almost harmonic, otherworldly, beyond all the majestic worlds he had ever seen in the 1,500 years he had been alive. It was just her and him now. Finally reunited. He wished it could have lasted forever, but she broke away, hands on his face while his own gripped her hips. Jane’s exhausted grin was met with a look of confusion, her free hand rising to caress his eyepatch. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, still caressing the skin around the scar. “What happened to your eye?” It was at that moment that she finally saw the unicorn behind Thor waving at her. Then she saw the raccoon. Then she saw Groot smile and wave all the same. Jane could only stare to them, finding the strength to turn back to Thor when he muttered an incoherent thought out loud. In his ramblings, he finally found the courage to face her once more… and say it. “You… y-you…” Thor whispered, closing his eyes, breathing in deep, and beginning again. “You might want to sit down.” He told her. He told everything there was to know. While Jane sat upon the couch she was ready to rest upon, Thor sat on the chair opposite to her, facing her through every second of every pain-filled explanation. Rocket stood at the end of the room, playing with the syringe and checking for any damages to it again and again. Rarity sat by Thor’s left, hoof gently laid on his knee for support. Groot stood on his right, hand resting on his shoulder whenever Thor hesitated. Whenever he struggled. They were there for him. Frigga strode about the room, hands knitted comfortably with each other as she listened intently alongside Foster. Until the very end… right down to Thor, Rarity, Rocket, and Groot traveling to Asgard from ten years in the future. Jane was momentarily speechless, simply trying to breathe it all in and make sense of it all. “So… what happens to me?” she asked, curious eyes rising to meet Thor’s lone pupil. Thor was happy to answer that. “You were spared. One of the lucky billions.” He was not, however, happy for the next question. “Did you ever come back for me?” Jane asked, waiting several seconds for that answer. Until finally, Thor shook his head pitifully, not even finding the strength to see Jane’s expression crumble at that. “I’m sorry,” he said in a defeated manner, his own body language showing that raw defeat. Jane merely sighed dropping her own gaze away from his. “Ms. Foster,” Rarity interjected, watching as Jane’s eyes shifted upwards to the unicorn. She watched as Rarity patted her hoof on Thor’s knee, her caring but powerful gaze latching with Foster. “Our friend here… has suffered a great deal, far more than any Avenger I know. He made mistakes, plenty of them. Yet even when he was trapped in that unending, perpetual turmoil… he still tried. At least, to make a difference. To change what fate wrought upon our worlds.” “I still failed,” Thor muttered, staring ahead and to no one in particular. Not having the strength for that anymore. “Thanos still destroyed the Stones after I killed him. It was all pointless.” “Does that make you a failure?” Frigga said, taking the stand and making it her time to interject. She stepped beside Rarity, the power in her gaze practically forcing Thor to look at her. She pursed her lips, that stern discipline still as ripe as the days he used to run down the palace halls with his younger brother by his side. She shook her head to him. “My son, your past does not define who you are. Every hero’s journey has a fall. They define themselves… by overcoming that fall, rising back up and proving to themselves who they truly are. So, tell me, Thor… who are you?” Thor stared at her longingly, stating proudly, “I am your son.” “Perhaps…” Frigga said, mulling over that response but finding no peace with it. She sighed. “Or, perhaps… you still fail to understand yourself.” “What do I need to do?” Thor asked, practically begged as he shot himself from the chair and stood face to face with his mother yet again. He held her hands tightly, whispering and crying to her, “Please, mother, I cannot do this without you.” Yet she simply smiled, shaking her head. Those hands that gripped hers fell, her own overcoming Thor’s. She told him with even more power and wisdom than Thor could provide, “You had the power to know from the very beginning. You never needed me. That is for you to discover.” And perhaps that was a journey for Thor to discover later on. Once again, he had a path to pursue even with a lifetime of pursuing, leading, fighting, and ruling as the God of Thunder. At the end of his journey, perhaps he would find himself. Perhaps he would discover what he was truly meant to be. But right then and there, with the sun falling and clock ticking, Thor knew that there would be no other opportunity to tell her. Thor did not know what would happen to the future if he did so, if he told his mother… about her fate. But after everything they discussed, just speaking with her after ten years of silence and torture… he simply couldn’t go another second without her. He held her hands, stating quickly, “Mother, you need to know—” But she raised a finger to silence him. “No, I don’t,” she said. “Please, it’s about your future!” “You only need to worry about your own,” Frigga said, that pained acceptance burning in her eyes giving Thor all the information he needed. That sad smile grew across her lips, a weak nod following her. “We will be fine here. Go now. Do what you must.” She bore her burden. She carried her fate and the tragedy that came with it. Thor stood there in disbelief, but with a somewhat… satisfied sense of acceptance filling him, as if that simple conversation they held—even if it be the last—was exactly what he needed to hear. And with the pain of the past finally cleansed, he could return his focus on what truly mattered. “Jane,” Thor said, turning back to his beloved. She raised her eyes to meet his, saw him point directly towards her. “We’re going to need the Aether. My friend here, Rabbit, can extract it from you.” She looked to Rocket apprehensively, then to the three-pointed end of the syringe. He held up the syringe in his right paw, the three tips jutting outwards. Jane gulped, but after turning back and witnessing their desperate expressions… especially seeing Thor’s, she finally agreed. “Okay,” Jane sighed, nodding quickly. “Okay, just make it fast.” After a somewhat questionable method to extract the Aether had come and gone, Rocket stood with the syringe tightly secured in his paw, the flowing red and black substance of the Aether swarming within it, trying desperately to escape. Groot and Rarity gazed with awestruck expression to the red substance, the energy known only to them as the Reality Stone. Jane Foster, in the meantime, rubbed her sore spot from the injection, Thor easing her with one final hug goodbye, thanking her for everything. He did the same with his mother, holding her several seconds longer. “All right, we got the ooze, and we’re ready to ship off. Everybody synced in?” Rocket asked aloud, turning from his own GPS to every member of his team. Rarity took a seat, hoof hovering over her GPS. “Ready,” she declared with a firm nod. “I am Groot,” Groot stated, hand hovering over his own device. “Wait!” The sudden cry sparked everyone’s interest. Turning accordingly, every head in the room watched as Thor suddenly jutted out his left arm, eyes closed softly as he steadied himself. Rarity flared her nostrils at that, a curious brow rising to Thor’s antics. Rocket, obviously confused, held out his paws and asked, “What? What the hell am I lookin’ at?” “Oh, sometimes it takes a second,” Frigga stated, pointing over to the open window. To where Thor held out his awaiting hand. To where the entire room turned. To suddenly witness the hammer fly in at breakneck speed and land in Thor’s palm. The air was electric, the distant thunder crying in the distance and emanating from the hammer itself. A short gust of wind washed over Thor and his hair, eventually washing over Rarity, Groot, and finally Rocket. Within that flow, everyone felt the electricity spark from it. They all stared bug-eyed to the hammer Thor twirled in his palm, that gasp of relief and the following smile filling Thor’s features once again. Once more filling him with that hope to pursue his journey. Rarity gasped as well, practically breathless as she uttered, “… Mjølnir.” The hammer of legend, crafted from a dying star, and answering only to those who possess the power of Thor, had returned to its rightful user. The hammer she hadn’t seen in many years—since the Ultron Offensive—was finally back. A short smile tugged at Rarity’s lips, but not nearly as strong as Thor’s. “I’m still worthy,” he stated, astonished. Rocket groaned, tapping in the coordinates for back home. His Quantum Suit covered him. Rarity’s covered her own body. Groot’s somehow managed to wash over him. Finally, for Thor, as he slapped his right palm onto his GPS, near the mighty Mjølnir he held. Even as that suit consumed him, he still smiled to the two most important women in his life. “Goodbye, Mom,” Thor said, turning that lone eye to her right. “Goodbye, my flame.” Both Frigga and Jane Foster waved goodbye one last time, watching as the masks overcame their expressions and they shrunk down into the vast expanse of the Quantum Realm. They were gone. But within the chaos, they were flying. The team of four flushed within the time vortex, exiting it at long last and speeding through the winding swirls and colors and ignoring it all. Their destination was set, a surefire return to their present time and to the New Avengers Facility. The coordinates were locked on their Time Travel GPSes and they were nearing the appropriate time vortex. That was… until the Reality Stone started to shimmer. Within the syringe, within its containment, the Aether’s energy started to pulsate. The overwhelming and unstable energy of the Quantum Realm entered fluidly past the container and fused with the Reality Stone’s own essence. It merged with it, creating a reactionary compound that was even more unstable. It flushed outwards from the syringe, Rocket only able to witness it. No one else saw what happened. No one saw that red energy entering their suits, their GPSes, and their Pym Particles. Before Rocket could even scream, reality took a turn for the worst and pointed them in an alternate direction. It launched them away from the path and into an awaiting time vortex hanging dangerously on the edge of an endless expanse. An endless reality. Then all was dark. Unknown Location Unknown Year Within the Storm The Quantum Realm devoured them and just as easily spit them out, the team of four crashing into the raging sandstorm and the earth covered in that same sand. The first thing they all felt when their Quantum Suits deactivated out of their control was the heat. The sweltering, unrelenting heat. It rained from the heavens from the crying star in the skies. Streams of bright orange and a blinding yellow filled the sky and infected the air, but mostly the storm. The sand was an even more horrific orange and yellow, like a fog of noxious fumes that none could breathe within. And even then, the smoke that clouded what remained made it even more difficult to breathe. The ash falling in burning particles finished the job. In the heart of the sandstorm, the team of four rose back up. From Groot, Rocket, Rarity, and finally to Thor, they all emerged without the Quantum Suits covering their bodies. Their Time Travel GPSes appeared to short-circuit, Rocket growling at that as he slapped his own repeatedly, Rarity eventually calming him down. The unicorn sent her wandering gaze across the landscape, a hoof rising just over her eyes to try and make out their location. Groot and Thor shielded themselves from the unrelenting winds and storm, the sand blowing into their skin like sharpened needles. “This doesn’t look like the facility!” Thor bellowed, arms raised in front of his face, his jacket and hair blowing wildly behind him. “Aw, you useless piece of crap!” Rocket roared at his GPS, ramming his fist into his own hand and screaming out in pain because of that. Yet his screams were silenced once the body flew past them. It was unrealistically fast. Like a ghost, almost like it was never there. Within the storm’s towering sand walls and haze of orange surrounding them, that blurb of darkness simply shot by them with speeds that none could properly react to, or identify. That unnerving silence filled the group, all four Avengers circling the surrounding area and scanning the sands. Bending down slowly, Rocket picked up the syringe which contained the Infinity Stone, keeping it close by his side while he reached for his laser pistol attached to his belt. At the ready. Silent and on guard for whatever seemed to find interest in them. Groot stood with him, eyeing those storms with growing anxiety. Rarity slapped her Arc Reactor, the dark purple Iron Mare armor washing over her coat, face, and horn until only her mane and tail were left uncovered. Yet she was safe. The sand particles merely scraped the hardened exterior of the nanoparticle suit of armor, bouncing off harmlessly while the unicorn turned her glowing blue eyes across the land. Thor stood right beside her, lowering his arms and gripping Mjølnir even tighter than before. All of them waiting in silence, the howls of the storm being the only sound. Then came the roar. The dark, flying body once again. It zoomed past them, all turning accordingly to the far left to see nothing yet again. Rarity jammed out her hoof, the repulsor charging up as she kept her attention latched in that certain direction. Rocket jammed out his pistol. Thor bent low in a defensive position, twirling Mjølnir once. Groot narrowed his eyes, uttering quietly, “I am Groot.” Somehow, Rarity didn’t even need a translation to understand what he meant. She stayed quiet, listened in, and fired her repulsor behind her when the roaring body came flying by. Rarity missed, obviously, but it was then did she realize that the bodies were flying off in the same direction. All three that they saw flew dead ahead, prompting her attention to shift in the direction of the sun. Then she heard it. The rage of the sun and the cry of the winds could not contain the bellow that shook the air. “Stand together! Death to the beast! Death to the evil!” It was a rallying battle cry, numerous others shouting in a conjoined chorus, a stampede of bodies flushing through the storm and charging for the burning star in the skies. They all simply ignored Thor and his team, their priorities set dead ahead where the storm only grew more and more ferocious. Rocket and Groot turned rapidly to every body rushing past them, Rocket debating on whether or not he should fire a warning shot at any one of them. Rarity and Thor both hesitated, watching with bated breath as those bodies washed past them in a flood of screams and stampeding hooves. Hooves… Rarity’s eyes widened beneath her mask when she saw the towering minotaurs charging alongside Hippogriffs. Alongside griffons. Even ponies. In the skies above, the team of four tilted their eyes up to hear the roar and see the shadows of the dragon army filling the heavens. Even with the sandstorm blocking out the most of it, they could still pay witness to the truly majestic sight of hundreds of dragons flying in a singular wave of unstoppable fury. They flew alongside the griffons, with the Hippogriffs, the Pegasi. All of them wielded weapons of every caliber, battle armor adorned on every body and every soul that filled the landscape. It was unbelievable, the army of races washing past them in numbers considered to be mere fable. Though now that Rarity could identify the ponies within the army, she could assume they were Equus. Back home. Only she made the mistake of following their conjoined charge, gazing into the heart of chaos itself as the army of Equus’ races collided with the opposing force. They collided with a resounding clang of armor against… something. Their screams and battle cries only grew more and more ragged, the following otherworldly screeches and roars replacing their rallying cry. And the team of four could only watch from their patch of safety, turning and twisting about as the army of Equus met their enemy. The serpents shot forward within the storm, ranging from the dozens to the hundreds. Rarity yelped, taking a defensive stance behind Thor while the God of Thunder shielded his friends. Rocket and Groot joined the unicorn, peeking out from behind cover to witness the slaughter first hand. Within the dust and madness of the sand, they could barely make out the twisting, twirling bodies of the serpents, snapping and leaping towards their prey with ferocious bites. Minotaurs were flung from the earth like they weighed nothing, those serpents shooting out and snatching them in their jaws. Dragons fell to the earth to engage the fearsome serpents in close combat, the cries of distant beasts raging across the battlefield. Rarity’s eyes widened fearfully behind her mask, scanning the storm and witnessing ponies being thrown about, crushed, eaten, and torn to shreds as the overwhelming serpent army simply decimated them. The army of Equus could only rely on the Hippogriffs and dragons to turn the tide, a retreating force of griffons, wounded Earth ponies and unicorns, minotaurs, and even felines finally emerging on the battlefront. There was too many to keep count. Rarity’s eyes kept returning to the shadows of the serpents, those beasts screeching out to the retreating forces before they, too, slithered and retreated. Slithered backwards. Thor furrowed his brow at that, Rarity’s own confusion as ripe as anyone else’s. The final cry of the dragon was given, silence filling the unknown battlegrounds. And then it was all cleared, the unknown, the storm, the sand. Simply all of it in a resounding gust of wind that originated from the pouring sunlight. From the colossal shadow flying over and past them. Thor shielded himself and those behind him, the sand and wind so powerful it nearly pushed him to his knees, somehow moved the God of Thunder several inches back. It was so unbearable that they were forced to escape the horrific gust of wind, Thor yelling at them at the top of his lungs to follow close. Somehow, someway, they escaped the wind. The sandstorm settled around them until they could finally witness the landscapes in pure clarity. It was only after they reached the top of the nearest hill did they escape it, rising up higher and higher until the peak was their greeter. The team of four finally found that rest at the top, facing the vast landscapes and valleys ahead until they finally turned to the sun. It wasn’t a star. It wasn’t the sun. It swirled in the heart of the darkened storm above, an orb of orange and yellow so utterly bright and powerful that it resembled that of the sun itself. Like a second sun, but encompassing the skies alone, the clouds from the dark storm above blocking out the true heavenly body. Gazing to the false star, the Avengers were simply breathless by the time they all came to a shared understanding that it was not the Equus they knew. Not even a word was shared. They just simply knew it. From the cataclysmic battle unfolding in the valleys below between Equus’ army and the demon horde. To the colossal dragon rising up upon the tallest mountain peak. To those monstrous wings stretching out and touching the east and the west. To the final scream from all seven heads, crying out in the burning remains of the heart of Southern Equestria.