Did it work
Steve sat outside on the bench with the rest of the team by the water, waiting for Kat and Loki to come out so they could tell her who they had lost. Steve still couldn’t believe that she had gone back to get Loki. He understood, he really did, but at the same time, he didn’t know what that meant for their relationship. He assumed that she would go back to Loki, and he knew that Loki would make her happy. That’s all he’s ever wanted for her. A single tear fell and he wiped at his face when he heard two pairs of footsteps approach.
“Hey guys.” Kat said softly. She looked around, noticing someone was missing. “Where’s Clint?”
Nat looked up at her with a tear strained face and shook her head.
“No…” Kat whispered. She let go of Loki’s hand and walked over to Nat, kneeling in front of her, pulling the redhead against her chest. “I’m so sorry Nat.” They sat in silence for a few more minutes, thinking about Clint. Kat hadn’t known much about him, but she knew that he had a family that got dusted in the snap. Maybe they were together now, maybe he was at peace.
“Do we know if he had any family other than Laura and the kids?” Tony asked. Nat shook her head.
“What?” Thor asked, walking over to Tony.
“I was just asking a question.”
“No, you’re talking like he’s dead. We have the stones, right? We can get him back. So, stop this shit. We’re the Avengers. Get it together.” Thor growled.
“It cant be undone.” Nat told him.
“What do you mean. We’re talking about space magic here, ‘can’t’ seems very definitive don’t you think?” Thor asked.
“The only way to get the soul stone was to give a soul in return. That’s what we were told. It was supposed to be me.” Nat said quietly. Kat looked up at her with wide eyes.
“I have a lot of red in my leger, and all I’ve wanted for the past five years is to have everyone back. He wouldn’t let me. He sacrificed his life for that God damned stone. He bet his life on it. We have to make it worth it.” Nat said, sobbing into Kat’s shoulder.
Kat looked up at Steve and he stood from the bench. “We will.”
They headed back into the lab where Bruce and Tony got to work on the stones, getting them put up in a new gauntlet. It had been decided that Bruce was the only one strong enough to put the gauntlet on, after Thor offering to do it.
Everyone backed up around Bruce, and Kat threw up a shield in front of her, Loki, Steve, Thor and Rocket.
“Friday, initiate Barn Door protocol.” Big metal doors slid down around the lab, locking everyone in. Bruce slid his hand inside the nanotech and one it closed around it, he fell to one knee, the power of the stones coursing through him, burning through the sleeve of his suit. He screamed out in pain and Thor yelled at him to take it off.
“Bruce are you okay?” Steve called out.
Bruce groaned again and nodded. “I’m okay.” He choked out. He closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. The blast threw him on the ground and Tony was standing over him, cooling off his arm, which was now burnt. The doors slid up and Scott walked over to the big windows, looking out.
“Did it work?” Bruce asked. Kat was about to reach for her phone when there was explosion and the compound caved in on itself. Kat was thrown several feet and got the wind knocked out of her when she collided with a wall. She coughed and put a hand to her head to feel blood trickling down the side of her face.
“Katherine!” She heard Loki yell out her name and she tried to stand, when strong arms were around her waist, helping her. She looked up to see Steve, blood on his mouth, a worried look on his face.
“I’m okay.” She told him. They began to walk toward an opening, finding Loki, Thor and Tony. Loki took her in his arms, checking her injuries. She swatted his hands away when she noticed what Thor and Tony were looking at. It was Thanos. He was just sitting on a rock by himself.
“What’s he been doing?” Tony asked. Thor shook his head.
“Absolutely nothing.”
“Where are the stones?” Steve asked.
Tony sighed. “Somewhere under this.” How was this even happening? They had killed Thanos. If he got to the stones again, all of this will have been for nothing.
“How did this happen?” Kat asked. Tony shook his head, looking over at her.
“We messed with time.”
“We cannot let him get the stones again.” Loki said from behind Thor.
“Agreed.” Thor’s eyes lit up and he held his hands out. Stormbreaker and Mjolnir flew into them and his suit flashed onto him. “Let’s kill him properly this time.”
They began to walk forward, but Kat grabbed both Steve and Loki’s hands, turning them to her. “Whatever is about to happen, I want you both to know I love you with everything I have in me.” She told them. She pushed herself into Steve’s arms, pressing her mouth to his. His hands went to her waist and held her there for just a second before letting go, kissing her once more on the top of her head, before joining Thor and Tony.
She did the same to Loki, knowing that this might be the last time she got to kiss either of them if this didn’t go their way, if they weren’t able to defeat Thanos.
“You have been the greatest thing I’ve ever had in my life Katherine, please know that.” He whispered into her ear, taking her hand and following the rest out to confront Thanos.
Thanos looked up at them and smirked. “You could not live with your own failure.” He said. “What did that bring you? Back to me. I thought that by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible.”
They surrounded him, Thor with his weapons out, Loki his daggers. Kat felt her magic pulsating at her fingertips and she wanted nothing more than to tear this monster apart. The monster that had taken everything from them, from her.
“As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be.” Thanos told them. Kat was done listening to him. She let her magic take over her body, clouding her eyes in the black haze she had done so well at concealing.
She didn’t care. She had so much rage in her body for this man, and it was time he paid.