Game Over
Maisie's anxiety level rose even higher once the Benatar touched down on Morag, the first stop on the group of five's tour of the universe. As Nebula moved to the panel of the ship to lower its pod to the ground, Maisie decided to get some air.
She stepped off the ship, looking around the foreign planet in mild interest. Her cousin would be showing up soon to steal the Power Stone, and an odd smile crossed her face at the thought. Maisie's mother told her stories about her aunt who fell in love with a spaceman, and the stars were full of people, despite what the rest of the world thought. Growing up, she heard stories of outer space and believed every word of them.
Her mother told her about her cousin only once, when she was seven years old, when a missing person's case circulated the news on the twentieth anniversary of Peter Quill's disappearance. She'd pointed at the TV screen in wonder, confused why aunt Meredith's picture from the living room was on the news. And who was that boy they were talking about? It was then she learned the truth. She wished she'd be able to see her un-dusted cousin one more time, but she was mostly just happy he'd be able to live his life after she and the others fixed what Thanos did.
"Hey, can we hurry it up?" Clint's voice interrupted Maisie's stroll down memory lane.
Natasha joined in, urging Nebula and Rhodey to move faster, "Guys, chop chop. We're on a clock."
Maisie turned to look out at the planet one more time, hoping everything would turn out the way it was supposed to: with Thanos gone and the world restored to its original population. Maybe then her past-self could get to know her only remaining relative.
When Maisie returned to the ship, she saw Rhodey hugging Nat, "Take care, okay?"
"Yeah," Nat smiled, nodding.
"Take that stone and come back," Rhodey pointed at the group heading for Vormir. "No messing around."
They said their goodbyes, including a sorrowful smile and wave from Maisie to Rhodey and Nebula, and the three returned to the Benatar.
"The coordinates for Vormir are locked in," Maisie buckled herself into the seat behind Nat, staring at the back of her head as she spoke. "All we have to do is not fall out of the course."
Clint and Natasha buckled in, listening to the girl's words. Then, Clint started to laugh.
"We've come a long way from Budapest," he joked.
Natasha looked to the side, laughing with him. Even Maisie cracked a smile at his words, but it didn't stay for long. She had a mission, and she was going to finish it.
******
The Benatar landed on the planet Vormir, and a familiar chill ran through Maisie at the sight. Clint and Natasha hadn't been to Vormir before, but Maisie remembered it all too well.
"Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome," Clint commented. Maisie wasn't sure she agreed.
"It's up there," Maisie said, frowning at the two pillars atop a mountain.
Natasha sighed, "I bet the raccoon doesn't have to climb a mountain."
Maisie wondered if they forgot her powers existed, or if they were just making jokes. Either way, she latched onto Clint's and Natasha's arms and teleported to the top of Vormir's mountain. Clint landed a bit unstable, his instinct being to reach for his bow. When he realized what'd happened, he cleared his throat and stood up straight, pretending like it hadn't bothered him.
"Right, good job," he nodded.
Maisie couldn't bring herself to respond, dread filling her up from head to toe.
"Welcome," a low voice spoke from the darkness around them.
Clint and Natasha whipped out their weapons with record speed, pointing toward the direction of the voice. Maisie simply stood, waiting for the Red Skull to say his line.
"Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith," he looked to Maisie. "Margaret, daughter of Jonathan."
"Not anymore," she mumbled, frowning at the cloaked figure.
"Who are you?" Nat asked, eyes blazing.
"Consider me a guide," the Red Skull spoke, opening his arms toward the mountain around him. "To you, and to all who seek the Soul Stone."
"Oh, good. You tell us where it is, and we'll be on our way," Natasha hadn't lowered her gun the slightest millimeter since she held it up.
The Stonekeeper shook his head, "If only it were that easy."
He began to walk away, gesturing for them to follow to the edge of the cliff. Clint and Nat exchanged a look, but agreed to follow. Maisie hung back, waiting for her moment. Clint slowly walked behind Nat, hesitant about the guide and what he was saying.
Without a thought, Maisie grabbed his hand, and the two were gone. Maisie dropped him next to the Benatar.
"What? What the hell—" he turned around to see Maisie, eyes wide. "Wait, don't!"
She gave the confused, furious Clint a simple look, non-apologetic, and teleported back behind Natasha at the top of the mountain. She'd only been gone a second, but Natasha was expertly trained, of course she'd notice.
"Where's Clint?" Natasha had moved her gun's aim. Now, it was focused on Maisie's head. She didn't even flinch.
"In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love," the Red Skull watched the two women in interest. "An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul."
"Yeah," Maisie looked at the Stonekeeper, "I know."
A moment passed, and Maisie wondered if Nat would really shoot her.
"Thanos left here with the stone," her heart sunk into her stomach, "but without his daughter."
"If you don't get that stone, billions of people stay dead," Maisie repeated the words burned in her brain from the worst day of her life. "We both know who it's gotta be."
"I'm not letting a kid die for me," Natasha retorted, finally understanding what Maisie meant. "You came here for a reason, didn't you?"
"My Natasha... she already died for me," Maisie fought the tears welling in her eyes. "I can't go through that again, and I told myself I wouldn't let it happen. This isn't my timeline, everyone I loved is now dead, except here, you're not."
"You can't beat me, little one," Natasha shook her head. "And you will live. You came back for a reason, and it wasn't to do this. If you don't fulfill that purpose, we lose. Your purpose wasn't to save me, and I won't be the reason we lose the universe."
Without warning, Natasha kicked Maisie in the back of the knee, forcing her to the ground, but she jumped up immediately, not prepared to give up without a fight. Maisie'd sparred with Natasha before, but it was nothing compared to this. Before had been for fun, for exercise, for bonding. This was life or death, and even worse, it was a fight for the other to live.
Maisie teleported around Nat, landing a punch to the back of her head. When Nat doubled over, Maisie glanced at the edge of the cliff, preparing to teleport. Before she could, her legs were kicked out from under her by Natasha.
As Maisie shook her head in shock, Nat was sprinting toward the edge of the cliff, ready to jump.
Natasha was airborne when Maisie finally teleported into her, grabbing her arm and landing back on solid ground.
"I can't let you do this again," she panted, tears forming in her eyes. "You and Tony—you're the closest things I've had to parents since my mom died. I-I can't—"
Natasha kicked Maisie's legs out from under her, forcing her to the ground. Then, using her gauntlets, she shot her widow bites. Two electrically charged discs landed on Maisie's arm and leg, coursing waves of shock through her body. For one horrible moment, she felt like she was back on Titan under the Space Stone's power by Thanos' hand. The shocks were painful, but she wasn't sure anything would compare to what she felt that day.
When she was finally able to open her eyes, she saw Natasha standing next to the cliff's edge, looking over her shoulder. Maisie tried to move, and she slowly pulled herself to her knees. Her teleportation, however, wouldn't work. The electricity...
"It's okay," Nat said, sounding like a whisper.
Then, she took a step forward, and vanished from Maisie's view.
"NO!" she yelled lunging for the cliff as though she'd be able to catch her.
Maisie knew before she looked what she'd see at the bottom of the cliff, but it didn't hurt any less. Natasha laid on her back, her red and blonde hair in its braid spread out behind her head. She couldn't see her face; she was too far away.
The girl's heart felt as though it'd been torn out. She'd failed, again, to save Natasha. How the hell was she supposed to save the universe if she couldn't save one woman? Tears streamed down her face as a bright light erupted from the twin pillars.
******
Maisie woke up like she did last time, in a pool of water, clutching the Soul Stone in her right hand. This time, though, Clint laid next to her, and she dreaded telling him what happened to his best friend, and how she robbed him of a chance to say goodbye. Maisie's eyes filled with tears again, waiting for Clint to ask the question that would send her over the edge.
Soaked with water, Clint sat up, looking around, "Where's Nat?"
Maisie's tears were enough of an answer, but he wasn't satisfied.
"Where's Nat? Kid?" he shook her shoulders, desperate for an answer. "Where the hell is she?"
"S-She's gone," Maisie spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. "She sacrificed herself. She wouldn't let me—" her voice broke.
Clint looked away from the broken girl, staring straight ahead in disbelief.
"She's gone, Clint," another sob wracked the girl's body. "And I'm so s-sorry I couldn't fix it."
Suddenly, he punched the water around him, sending splashes everywhere. His face was screwed up, and Maisie saw that he was crying. That only made her feel worse. Without another word, she looked at her Quantum Tunnel device and clicked the button that would send her home.
******
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the glass floor of the Quantum Tunnel surrounded by her teammates. With a look to her left, Maisie saw Clint with no Natasha standing next to him, and reality set in again.
Everyone looked around to see all six of the Infinity Stones, and Bruce let out a laugh, "Did we get them all?"
"You're telling me this will actually work?" Rhodey asked in mild disbelief.
Clint fell to one knee next to Maisie, making a loud clang that got everyone's attention. That's when they started to realize that there was someone missing.
"Clint," Bruce began, dreading the answer, "where's Nat?"
The silence from the man was all they needed to know. Maisie turned on her heel, leaving the room without another word.
"Maisie!" an authoritative voice called once she was in the hallway and away from the grieving Avengers. She flinched as a loud bang echoed through the compound, and she guessed that it was Bruce letting out his anger in the way he knew how. Tony looked at her with inquisitive eyes, "You knew this would happen. That's why you went to Vormir."
"I was there last time," Maisie paused before speaking, hoping she wouldn't cry. "To get the Soul Stone. It requires a sacrifice, and she just..."
"You were going to try to take her place this time, weren't you?" Tony asked softly.
Maisie nodded, "Yeah."
Tony shook his head, and he leaned forward to pull her into a hug.
"She's really gone, again," Maisie whispered, "and it's all my fault."
"No," Tony pulled away, shaking his head. "This was not your fault. You said this happened before—"
"Because I was too weak to stop her—" Maisie protested.
"Because Natasha is one of the most skilled warriors in this entire universe, and there aren't many, if any, who could stop her," Tony smiled, a fond look crossing his face. He hoped Morgan grew up to be as determined, though he could do without the sacrificing thing. That's all him. He continued, "You said this happened before, which means that this really was her time. This was her sacrifice, and I'm sorry you had to be there to witness it, twice."
Maisie frowned, still not wanting to accept that there was nothing she could've done. The girl realized with a start that she'd be on the battlefield once Thanos arrived, and she had to do something to make sure they win. The worst thing was, she had no idea what that was.
******
The original Avengers met outside by the docks like they had the first time they heard that Natasha was dead. Last time, Maisie joined them. This time, she stayed in her room, imagining the different ways she could change the timeline for the better.
Strange hadn't told her to go back and change anything until after Thanos arrived on his big spaceship and fought everyone, so she guessed that in his vision of the future, Thanos was on Earth when they won. This meant that she couldn't go outing Nebula for being the one from 2014 still under Thanos' command.
That didn't mean that she couldn't give her dirty looks anytime she saw her.
After over two hours of grieving from Natasha's closest friends, her family, they came back inside with a purpose. They were going to snap their fingers once and for all.
Tony, Bruce, and Rocket worked on the Iron Gauntlet that would hold the Infinity Stones while Maisie saw Nebula sneak off somewhere, most likely to bring her father through the Quantum Tunnel.
Maisie waited for them to be done, calculating move after move in her head and scouring her brain for something she could change. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rhodey came to sit down next to her.
"Long day?" he asked, sighing.
Maisie frowned, "You could say that."
Rhodey nodded, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, again. I know it must've been hard, but I know Nat. And she would've never allowed anyone to sacrifice themselves for her, at least not since she got this job."
"She used to tell me she was better because of it," Maisie's lips quirked up. "Through this job, she had a family, she had friends..." her voice broke. "She had me. But now, it's all gone."
Rhodey stayed quiet, listening.
"You know, besides Peter, she and Tony were all I had before and after the Snap," Maisie glanced down at her ring. "I'd been kicked out of my house for being a superhero, and Tony decided to let a teenager live in his multi-billion dollar compound for the Avengers. Could you even imagine him doing that ten years ago?"
Rhodey chuckled, shaking his head, "No, I can't."
"Then, when the Snap happened..." Maisie sighed. "I lived with him and Peter in the cabin in the woods. Nat would come visit sometimes after she apologized for the Accords, and we latched onto one another. She and Tony became the closest thing to parents over those five years that I'd had since my mother died."
Rhodey looked down at his lap, remembering her words.
"Peter used to joke about 'Parker luck' with his own family," Maisie shook her head. "I let him know that 'McCall luck' was just as bad."
Rhodey didn't know what to say, it seemed that she was right. Maisie was ridiculously unlucky; Rhodey figured she needed some sort of stability in her life, but with life as a superhero, how would that be possible?
"We've finished the gauntlet," Bruce announced to the room of waiting Avengers.
Maisie and Rhodey shared a look and got to their feet, ready to follow the larger man into the room where they'd finally fix what happened all those years go.
They entered a room where the stone-encrusted glove laid untouched. Even once everyone was in the room, no one said a word.
It took a while, but Rocket broke the silence, "Okay, the glove's ready, but who's going to snap their freaking fingers?"
Thor stepped forward, reaching for the gauntlet, "I'll do it."
"Whoa, whoa," a few Avengers stepped in front of him, including Steve who shook his head. "We haven't decided who's gonna put it on yet."
"Oh, I'm sorry, are we just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor retorted.
"We should at least discuss it," Scott defended.
"Just let me do it," Thor's eyes were watering. "Let me do something good, something great."
"Look...It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you you're in no condition—" Tony was interrupted.
"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked.
Rhodey couldn't resist, giving him a look, "Cheez-Whiz?"
"Lightning," Thor ignored him.
Maisie had heard this argument before, and she turned to give Bruce a look. It seemed he already knew, but with the nod from Maisie, he felt a sense of purpose rush through him, and he stood up.
"Lightning won't help you, pal, it's gotta be me," he said. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos, it almost killed him. None of you could survive."
"How do we know you will?" Steve's eyes flicked to Maisie. He was reluctant to trust her judgement after what happened to Natasha. Maisie looked down, knowing what he was thinking.
"We don't," Bruce replied, looking closer at the gauntlet. "But the radiation's mostly gamma, it's like I was meant for it."
A moment passed between the remaining Avengers where they seemed to agree that what Bruce was saying made sense.
Steve gave a stiff nod, "Suit up."
The others prepared themselves for the snap, putting on their protective gear and stepping behind shields and equipment. Maisie stood next to Tony, slightly behind his nanoshield created to cover both him and Clint. She knew she could teleport out if something went wrong, but she also knew nothing would.
"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Protocol Eight," Tony said, and the Avengers Compound was on lockdown. "Good to go, yeah?"
"Let's do it," Bruce nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Remember," Tony began, looking at Bruce seriously, "everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years."
"Got it," he nodded. Once everyone was behind some sort of protection, Bruce stared at the glove he was about to put on his hand, "Everybody comes home."
He placed the gauntlet on his hand as it shifted in size to fit his Hulk-like hands. Once it was secured around his whole arm, the sheer power of it sent waves of pain up the right side of his body. Bruce grunted, and based on what the Avengers saw, it was for good reason. The stones sent multicolored sparks of electricity through the veins on his arms, causing him immense pain.
"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor jumped forward.
"No, wait!" Steve protested. "Bruce, are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Bruce panted, standing up straight again. He squeezed his eyes shut as he held up the hand with the gauntlet. As he moved his fingers, he let out a scream before finally snapping his fingers.
As soon as his fingers clicked together, Bruce collapsed to the ground, the gauntlet sliding off his arm.
"Bruce!" Steve exclaimed, lurching forward to give him support.
"Don't move him," Tony advised.
It seemed FRIDAY understood that the threat was gone, and the lockdown ceased. Maisie frowned when she saw natural light filter into the room, knowing that the strike would be coming any second. She saw Clint in the far corner of the room, eyes wide in disbelief as he mumbled something into his phone by his ear.
"Guys, I think it worked..." Scott said, looking out the large window with a hesitant smile on his face.
Maisie's eyes widened when she saw him by the window, "Scott, get away from there!"
And that's when Thanos' ship, Sanctuary II, landed its first missile strike, sending shock waves through the entire compound. Instinctively, and just like last time, Maisie teleported.
When Maisie opened her eyes, she was kneeling on the grass in front of her mother's grave. A choked sob escaped her mouth, and she covered it with her arm.
"What the hell?" she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.
This hadn't happened last time. Last time, Maisie ended up back at the cabin in the woods with Peter latched onto her, his grip almost enough to break her arm. When they finally realized they were okay, and not dead, she teleported back to the Compound, or what remained of it, and the two of them fought until they couldn't anymore.
This was new territory. She hadn't been to her mother's grave since before the Snap. What was she doing there now? Taking one look at the date carved into the stone underneath her mother's full name, she broke down.
It had changed a bit since the last time she'd been there, with the growing weeds and longer grass around the headstone. When her father was snapped, Maisie considered placing a stone next to her mother's, but a part of her simply couldn't. She couldn't move on from what had happened, and she didn't want to give up on the idea that maybe she could save him, along with everyone else, someday.
Maisie picked her head up, her tears still wet on her cheek. That's what she was there to do. She'd been the one sent back in time to change the timeline, and she'd have to be the one who ensured that everyone was brought back. The girl sniffed and stood up, eyes never leaving her mother's headstone. She looked more like the girl she was before the Snap had ever happened as she wished and wished that everything could just go back to the way it was.
But, it didn't, and so, she teleported back to her friends, her family, who needed her.
******
Maisie landed next to Cap's still unconscious body, and she looked around for any sign of the other Avengers. All around her was the destruction caused by the Sanctuary II missile strike, but she knew everyone was fine (or, every part of her hoped that this aspect of her timeline didn't change). Tony came into Maisie's line of sight, and the two shared a sigh of relief at seeing one another uninjured.
"Hey, kiddo," Tony looked an odd combination of tired and alert, "don't leave again, okay?"
"I'll do my best," she replied, not sure if she could keep that promise. "Wake him up, I'll look for the others."
Tony nodded, and then she was gone again. He frowned, shaking his head, "She better not have just lied to me, or—"
"You'll what? Ground me?" Maisie's voice echoed through the comms in his suit. "Nice try, dad."
******
"MAYDAY," a voice carried through the comms. "MAYDAY! Does any—does anyone copy?"
Maisie frowned, recognizing Rhodey's voice. Time to make a difference.
"I copy, Rhodey, coming to you... uh, where are you?" she winced, having no location to teleport to.
"We're in the lower-floor, it's flooding," Rhodey panted. "We're drowning—ugh!"
Maisie knew he must be in some kind of pain because of the explosion. She should've known. Everyone survived the explosion in her timeline, but Rhodey wasn't here last time. His future was still uncertain.
"On my way," she blinked, and her surroundings were entirely different.
She had only guessed, but she was still miffed when she didn't see the War Machine armor in sight. The Avengers Compound was completely destroyed, nothing was recognizable anymore save for a couple pieces of obliterated, half-things. Maisie tried again, landing in a running stream of water coming from above. Looking up, she gasped and dodged another waterfall forming from the destruction above. In her haste, Maisie took a step onto thin air, falling in shock down a small drop and onto concrete that must've belonged to the lowest basement ground. She managed not to smack her head on the hard ground, but as she regained her senses and opened her eyes toward where she fell, there was no light and no way out.
Maisie had only felt more claustrophobic at one other moment in her life: being trapped under the building the night of her school homecoming with Peter. As she laid on the concrete, she gave herself one selfish moment to remember him. All his ridiculous quirks, his sweet smile, the way he made her laugh, the way he made her feel loved... and the way he died. Picturing his face on the worst day of her life, she was yanked back to reality by the sound of someone's scratchy voice.
"Nice to see you, kid," Rhodey quipped. "Here to get us out?"
Maisie scrambled to her feet, looking around for the first time on solid ground. Rocket and Rhodey were hunched over as Bruce was busy looking like he was holding the sky above them. In her shock, someone small appeared next to her, growing larger next to her: Scott Lang, Ant-Man.
Mission-mode took over once again, and Maisie looked to Scott, "I'll take Rhodey and Rocket. Any chance you've still got that Gi-Ant Man thing going?"
Scott nodded, "Got it, no problem. Last time it worked perfectly."
"Sure," Maisie agreed, not being able to help the edge to her voice. She was nervous. "As soon as we're out, go big. Bruce needs our help as soon as possible."
Without another moment's hesitation, Maisie lurched forward, grabbing Rhodey and Rocket's arms, and teleported into the middle of exactly where she knew everyone would be waiting. And she meant everyone.
When she opened her eyes, Maisie looked around her and saw everyone who'd been dusted in this timeline standing in front of over a hundred glowing orange portals. The Masters of the Mystic Arts to her left, the tribes of Wakanda and the warriors from New Asgard on her right—everyone was there. Maisie saw Wanda, determination and rage in her eyes. She saw Bucky Barnes carrying a new weapon and Sam Wilson flying overhead to land beside him. Doctor Strange, stepping through a portal from an orange planet: Titan. Horror rushed through her at the sight of the man who sent her on this time-traveling mission.
Her sudden fear washed away at the sight of Peter Parker swinging through the portal, uncovering his mask to show a determined sixteen year old boy. With another blink, Maisie watched as her younger self appeared at his side, the same look on her face. The two shared a look, their connection strong enough to convey their thoughts without words.
They were so... in love.
Maisie smiled, but they didn't really know it yet.
Thanos' army was at the ready, and everyone glanced around, their collective goal in mind. Maisie let her gaze wander from her doppelgänger and Peter Parker, staring ahead at the future. Natasha's words echoed through her mind, You came back for a reason. It was time to see what that reason was.
Steve stared Thanos down, a broken shield on his arm and his teammates by his side, his friends, his family.
He called Mjolnir to his right hand, "Avengers... assemble."
Remembering everyone she had already lost, Maisie wasn't afraid anymore. This was for them.
Thor let out a battle cry, and the Avengers charged.
******
Weapons were flying, connecting with their targets or missing before lifting for another strike. Sparks of magic yellow, gold, and Wanda's swirling red mixing with Thor's and Steve's occasional lightning blasts made for a chillingly beautiful image, and it was something Maisie'd seen before. Seeing her own sparkling purple light teleporting across the battlefield without being the one conjuring it, however, was a new sight to see.
Ripping her attention from her younger self, Maisie dodged one of the aliens and sliced at its neck with her knives, ending its life with one swift motion. She scanned the field for anyone needing assistance, but no one looked out of their league.
She charged toward the oncoming army, teleporting out of range from each of the aliens, cutting them down one by one with clinical accuracy. One stray alien headed for Rhodey's back, and Maisie stepped forward, teleporting in front of it and extended her long blade from her wrist and lodging it into its head. Looking over her shoulder with a smirk, she gripped her blade, swinging it expertly in her hand before taking an attacking stance and diving back into another wave of enemies.
As she moved to strike the last alien, Maisie tuned out the comms in her ear as her team discussed an ugly brown van and saw Ebony Maw out of the corner of her eye, telekinetically moving objects to take down several Masters of the Mystic Arts at once. Rock fragments and metal beams flew in all directions, but she didn't care. He killed her Peter.
Maisie teleported in front of him, "You wouldn't remember me."
She stabbed him in the stomach, driving the blade in deep before teleporting away. His hand flicked, sending debris where she was standing only moments ago, but she wasn't there. As soon as it passed, she was back, holding the long blade to his neck.
"But, you took my future from me," she spat. "And before you do it again, you're going to die."
"You wretched—" he began, but she didn't even give him the chance.
Pulling the blade from his neck, Maisie stepped back and sliced the weapon across his neck. As his body fell, his head rolled in the opposite direction across the destroyed ground. As she stared at the image before her, she finally understood... she was an Avenger after all.
Looking around the battlefield, she frowned. She wasn't. Not yet, not until she fixed it.
She teleported across the field, landing beside Doctor Strange and offering help to anyone nearby. At nearly the same time, Tony landed out of the sky, looking to the Sorcerer Supreme with a burning question in his eyes.
"Hey, you said one out of fourteen million we win, yeah?" he pressed. "Tell me this is it."
Doctor Strange shifted his eyes to focus on Maisie before replying, "If I tell you what happens, it won't happen."
Tony noticed his gaze, and he nodded, "You better be right."
Maisie took a sharp breath in, "No pressure."
On the field, she heard the passing off of the Iron Infinity Gauntlet to escape Thanos and his evil minions until it ended up with Peter.
"I got it!" he exclaimed, his voice higher than she remembered it. "Ah! Uh, Activate Instant Kill!"
Instinctively, Maisie searched for him across the battlefield, finding him surrounded by the evil attack alien dogs. She took a step in that direction, preparing to teleport, but before she could, a burst of purple magic appeared beside him. Maisie watched herself save Peter's life, quipping about always needing her help, and the two disappeared to safety. Tears formed in her eyes, entranced by the image she'd been lucky enough to see.
A searing pain caused her to yell out in pain, turning to face her attacker. That's what she got for taking her eye off her enemy. With one swipe of her blade, the alien attacker was dead. She teleported away without another glance, even more furious than before.
The sight of explosions all around her forced her gaze upward, seeing the ships raining fire down on the battlefield without care for the destruction of their own troops. Maisie appeared next to a fallen Wanda, who'd just gone toe to toe with Thanos, and by his sudden retreat, it seemed as though she was winning.
"You alright?" Maisie asked, ducking beneath the woman's magic shield she held above her head and most of their allies around them.
"I will be," Wanda said through gritted teeth. "Once Thanos is dead."
Maisie couldn't disagree with that.
Suddenly, the cannon fire stopped, and the two young women looked at one another. Wanda was confused, but Maisie knew they'd be pointed at something in the distance, out of sight. Looking back up at the sky, they saw the cannons turning to point at something in the distance, out of sight.
An eerie feeling of familiarity and horror set in as Maisie listened to the sound of battle around her.
"What the hell is this?" Sam Wilson said over comms.
Maisie froze. She'd been here before, in this exact moment. Beside Wanda, staring at the sky, wondering what would happen next. She lowered her head, her gaze slowly falling until resting on Doctor Strange as he worked to ensure that the tsunami wave wouldn't drown the battlefield. He looked over his shoulder, but he wasn't looking for her. His gaze landed on Tony, fighting opposite Thanos himself.
Maisie stopped breathing. The world slowed to a stop. Tony missed a punch, and Thanos raised his sword. She knew what would happen next.
Unless, it didn't.
She didn't even blink as she teleported. Maisie pushed Tony out of the way, stepping into the path of Thanos' sword as it plunged deep into her heart. The air was sucked out of her lungs and her mouth hung open as she stared with wide eyes at the Mad Titan standing in front of her. Her eyes flicked to where she knew Doctor Strange was watching, and he gave her a stiff nod filled with grief.
Falling backward, Tony caught her, speechless. With a tired smirk, she teleported with all the remaining energy she had, getting Tony away from what could've been.
Unable to hold herself up, Tony laid her down on the ground, staring in horror at the image of Maisie dying, again.
"T-Tony," she mumbled, barely able to open her eyes. "It was... it was what I was 'sposed to do."
"Kid..." Tony shook his head.
"Whatever it takes," Maisie could only smile, eyes closing for the last time. "Gonna... I'm gonna s-see Peter again..."
"Maisie?" a timid voice asked, approaching the pair on the ground. Peter.
Tony looked up to see the kid, confused and heartbroken, but he turned back to Maisie as she spoke her last words.
"I... can hear him," she whispered.
Maisie's heart stopped beating. Tony was silent, and Peter was frozen, staring at her body. As the war raged around them, they were brought back only by the sparkling purple light they'd become so familiar with. Maisie's body was teleporting, but to where?
With another blink of an eye, they were left staring at the empty ground, and Tony had a bit of explaining to do.
******
2023: Future Timeline
Silently, as a losing battle fought by the remaining Avengers continued on, a hero clothed in purple appeared next to her partner to sleep peacefully beside one another for all of time. A diamond sparkled in the sun's dwindling light.
They'd done their duty. It was time to rest.
******
2023: Current Timeline
Maisie had only been back from the weirdest experience of her life for about twenty-four minutes, and already she had killed too many aliens for an entire lifetime. As she sliced through another couple aliens, she looked over her shoulder, fear rushing through her as she didn't see Peter anywhere... that boy was always getting into trouble.
For God's sake, he asked her to prom right before Thanos showed up the first time.
She ignored the feeling and continued fighting. Without warning, the memory leading right up to her going all dusty infiltrated her brain, causing her cheeks to redden. She let the frustration and embarrassment she felt from that fuel her fire to destroy the enemies in front of her, but she couldn't forget what she was going to say right before she disappeared.
I love you.
Maisie had never said that to anyone before, and yet...
Shaking her head, she rid the thought from her mind. Maisie last saw Peter before she stood up along with the rest of the strong women she'd looked up to her entire life to help Captain Marvel herself. Maisie had teleported to the front, wishing she could've been fighting alongside Natasha again, and she led the charge as Captain Marvel carried the stones to the ugliest van she'd ever seen.
After that, she lost Peter for a while as she fought next to Pepper, clad in her purple Rescue iron armor.
Almost as though Pepper sensed her sudden lack of focus, she called out, "C'mon, can't lose you again."
"Even though I was dead," Maisie grunted as she dodged a strike from a Chitauri, "I know I missed you, Pepper."
"We missed you too, Maisie," Pepper used her gauntlets to destroy three aliens at once. "I can't wait 'til you meet Morgan."
Maisie's eyebrows furrowed, "Who's—"
Her voice stopped in her throat, watching as an incoming Chitauri disintegrated right before her eyes. Dusted, just like before.
Maisie's head whipped over to Pepper, eyes wide, "What's happening?"
"I... don't know," she answered, looking around in awe.
All around them, the doglike aliens, the Chitauri, all of Thanos' allies and troops—they turned to dust.
They had won.
As joyful relief bubbled in her chest, a smile rose to Maisie's face. She frantically searched the battlefield for Peter, but she found Tony first. The joy dissolved from her heart, replaced by horror, and the smile dropped from her face.
Pepper was gone, flying over immediately, but Maisie still got there first. She knelt down beside his body leaning against a chunk of rock, staring at Tony's wounds too devastated to accept the reality of the situation.
"Tony, it's okay," Maisie wiped something from her face before realizing that tears were streaming down her cheeks with uncontrollable speed. "You're going to be fine, you're gonna be—it's okay. I—"
She suddenly understood with absolute certainty that Tony was the one to snap his fingers. His entire right side was scarred with the raw energy that it took to snap his fingers. The power was too much for any human, but he was still strong enough to destroy all of Thanos' army and the Mad Titan himself. He saved the universe, and he did it even though he knew it would kill him.
Upon noticing Maisie, Tony lifted his head a bit, smiling with the part of his face that could still move. She'd never seen him so vulnerable. She couldn't move, staring completely paralyzed and unable to cope with the truth. This was the one they won, and it relied entirely on his sacrifice.
When she stood up, backing slowly away from her father-figure's body, Maisie saw Rhodey was standing a short distance away, tears freely flowing down his face. Maisie finally registered Peter's appearance after what felt like an eternity, and she watched as he knelt down in front of Tony Stark's dying body.
"Mr. Stark? Can you hear me?" Peter's voice broke as he asked. "We won. Mr. Stark, we won. You did it, sir..."
Tony only looked at him, unresponsive with what Maisie thought was a sad smile.
Peter couldn't stop his tears as he looked at his mentor one last time, "I'm sorry... Tony..."
Pepper was next, helping to pull Peter to his feet. Rhodey pulled him away from Tony's body, leading him into Maisie's open arms.
She could barely remember anything after that. Pepper knelt down beside Tony to say goodbye, Peter let his tears fall into the top of Maisie's head, and she sobbed into his chest. Maisie didn't wanna open her eyes again, knowing that when she did, she'd be looking a world that no longer had Tony Stark in it.
******
All of her stuff was destroyed in the final battle.
Maisie didn't have anything left besides the spare change of clothes from Peter's old drawer that was shoved into storage with the rest of the Parkers' things. She didn't have any money to buy any clothes. She didn't have anything, really.
Besides Peter.
They were inseparable after the final battle, and no one was really surprised about it. Despite that, they hadn't spoken about what happened on Titan, and Maisie wasn't sure they ever would. Things had changed, they had changed.
She didn't know what to do after everything happened. Peter and May let her stay with them once they found a place, even going so far as getting her a bedroom in their new place. It seemed as though her living situation was permanent, though it was never really discussed. With everything that had happened, it felt good to have the people she cared about most close to her.
When the time had come for Tony's funeral, Maisie still didn't have anything to wear. She wasn't going to show up without the proper attire, so she stole a nice black dress and a pair of short heels from the nearest store. She promised herself she'd pay them back once she figured out how she would earn money, but she couldn't really bring herself to care that much about anything so trivial anymore.
"Maisie?" Peter called.
Their bedrooms were right next to one another, sharing a wall. She stepped in, smoothing her dress anxiously with her hands before looking up at him. Maisie didn't want to cry again, she'd been doing so much of it that she felt almost numb to the idea of attending the funeral. It wasn't her first one, anyway.
Peter's eyes softened when he saw her, and he politely ignored the red rimming her own.
"Can you...?" he asked, holding his black tie up with his hand.
Maisie nodded, stepping forward to tie it for him, and Peter watched her. Her hair was pulled out of her face and into a ponytail, he noticed. Without realizing what he was doing, Peter reached toward Maisie's face and touched a stray piece of hair framing her face. It must've fallen out of the ponytail, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
Maisie finished tying Peter's tie, straightening it toward the top of his collar as he tucked the lock of hair behind her ear. He held his hand next to her face for a moment longer than necessary, only pulling away when Maisie finally looked up at him.
"May's probably waiting for us," she whispered, breaking the silent tension.
Peter's mouth twitched into a small frown, "Yeah."
Maisie looked down at the ground, her hands clasped together as she left Peter standing alone in his room.
******
The three arrived at Tony's funeral early. May left the two to witness a personal message Tony left behind for his family, for those he left behind. Maisie felt like he was intruding after seeing the life he built in the five years she and Peter were dusted, but Pepper shook her head softly upon noting her discomfort.
"He loved you two like you were his own kids," Pepper smiled sadly. "Maisie, you were his first daughter."
It took everything she had not to burst into tears in front of the grieving widow, but Peter had simply squeezed her hand, allowing her to focus on that pressure instead.
When they sat down for the playing of Tony's recording, Rhodey gave Maisie a nod that she politely returned. She wasn't sure she'd ever spoken to the man, but he seemed to know her. Maisie turned her head to see Peter furrowing his eyebrows in a determined kind of way; she knew he was trying to make sure he wouldn't cry either.
They should've been all out of tears by then.
Before anyone was truly ready, a hologram erupted from the eye of Tony's Iron Man armor, bringing to life a past image of the man they all loved.
"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. Maybe this time. I'm hoping if you play this back, it's in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now," the hologram Tony shook his head as if in amazement. "If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised. But come on, you know? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that's the reality Morgan's gonna have to find a way to grow up in."
At his words, Maisie turned her head to see the young Morgan Stark staring at the image of her father. Looking at the little girl who lost her parent before she was ready, she saw herself. Morgan didn't deserve that, but Maisie knew that there wouldn't be a day where Tony wouldn't be looking down on her.
"So, I thought I'd probably better record a little greeting in the case of an untimely death on my part. I mean, not that death at any time isn't untimely. This time travel thing that we're gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it's got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That's the thing. Then again, that's the hero gig," Tony seemed to look right at the pair of teenage superheroes. "Part of the journey is the end."
A moment passed, the room was completely silent. Maisie felt a tear slip out of her eye, and she batted it away with the back of her hand. Maisie felt like a fraud. She and Peter had only been a part of his life for such a short time, but for Tony to have had such an impact on her life was something she could never repay, though she could certainly try.
"What am I even trippin' for? Everything's gonna work out exactly the way it's supposed to," Tony stood, leaning down in front of his daughter, the hope of saving everyone in the universe alight in his eyes, and he said: "I love you 3000."
******
After the recording, they followed Pepper outside as she carried a wreath with the first arc reactor Tony ever created for himself. The words inscribed on it were something Pepper called an inside joke between the two: "Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart."
When Maisie finally walked through the door, she was amazed by everyone who came to the funeral. Superheroes that she'd always looked up to but never met, and they all came for Tony. Maisie hooked her arm through Peter's as she walked down the stairs and past everyone until they stopped on the docks behind the immediate family and friends.
As Pepper laid the wreath in the water, Peter pulled Maisie closer to him.
The two stared solemnly at the floating wreath as it drifted slowly toward the middle of the lake.
******
"You're Maisie, aren't you?" a voice asked.
Maisie turned her head, seeing Peter Quill, or as she had known him on Titan as Starlord, standing with an inquisitive look on his face. She'd not thought much about him since Titan, especially with how the final battle ended, but seeing him, she was reminded of all that seemed to link the two together through the world's coincidences.
"Yeah," she nodded. "You're Peter Quill."
He nodded, frowning, "I'm sorry for your loss..."
"Thanks," Maisie didn't really know what to say. "I heard about your, um, your girlfriend. I'm sorry about her, too."
"Thank you," Quill looked down at his hands.
Maisie watched him for a moment, wondering if she'd ever get the chance to speak to this man again. He lived in space, traveling to different planets with his team of aliens and saving the galaxy. She really didn't have anything to lose.
"Your last name, Quill," Maisie asked, "That was my mom's maiden name."
Quill's eyebrows furrowed, "Your mom...?"
"Jennifer McCall," Maisie continued. "She was from Missouri, like you said you were. And, I had an aunt that she talked about, her sister—"
"Meredith?" Quill finished, mouth hanging open.
Maisie's eyes widened. As little as she had thought about it, all the coincidences, she didn't think it would all be really true. She just nodded.
"That was my mom," Quill said. "Which means..."
"We're family," Maisie concluded. "Cousins."
The two stood in a weird silence, unsure of what to do next. It was an odd feeling, knowing that they were out there living at the same point in time in completely different lives, only to reunite on the universe's worst day.
"I kinda had a feeling, you know," Quill gestured at the girl. She looked at him, the question written on her face. "Your voice, your hair—you look like her, my mom."
At his words, Maisie felt her throat close up. She imagined her mother, so many years ago, saying the same thing.
"My mom," she replied, and a smile slowly grew on her lips for the first time in a long time, "she used to say I looked like her, too."
Quill nodded, a small smile growing on his face as he thought about it. After a moment, he took a step forward before stopping; his feet moved before he could tell them not to. Maisie noticed his arms raise a bit before awkwardly lowering back down by his side. Noticing his hesitance, she closed the distance between them, putting her arms around him in an awkward embrace.
The hug didn't last long, but it was enough for them to understand what they both needed. Maisie lost all the family she had, and Quill's been alone since he was a kid. Knowing they were both out there, that was enough for them.
******
Peter took a seat on the cabin porch steps, loosening his tie and running a hand through his hair. He and Maisie were having trouble focusing on anything besides what happened so recently, but there was one thing that he couldn't forget, something that was always on the forefront of his mind, burned into his eyes: the image of Maisie dying in front of him.
He'd seen it happen twice; once when she was dusted, and once with a sword through the heart. Tony had grabbed him and told him that it wasn't his Maisie, whatever that meant, but it was her. She had disappeared with the familiar purple light, and he was left wondering if he'd ever see her again. Tony had pointed over to where another Maisie was fighting alongside Pepper across the battlefield, and he was so confused.
Looking up from his hands, he found Maisie talking to Wanda and Clint by the lake shore, and he reminded himself that she was still living, still breathing. He wanted to tell her what he saw, but he didn't know if he could.
"Hey, kiddo," May sat down next to him on the steps. "What are you thinking about?"
Peter tore his eyes away from Maisie, "Everything."
******