"Are you even hearing yourself right now? This is why we believe you're fully competent for this initiative. Whatever you've gone through has been training you for these moments. You don't ever stop fighting, there's always another threat. A threat...
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Today was the day. The day the Avengers were going back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones. The day where they would all put everything on the line to bring back the people they loved, the people who lost the fight. They would have to be prepared to sacrifice, to fight against anything that came in their way to recover those Stones because for the first time in five years, they had a real chance to do something right.
The team decided to wake up decently early in the morning, wanting to debrief the mission and clarifying the motive in everyone's mind before stepping into the quantum realm. I was glad that I went for that test-run otherwise I'd most definitely be scared shitless over this while situation of going back in time.
Thor and I both were aware that the other couldn't sleep last night. Both of us laid in bed beside the other, listening to each other's soft breath as we stared up at the white, darkened ceiling, minds entirely occupied with the day that we had ahead of us. Every now and then, I'd stroke my hand up and down Thor's arm in a comforting motion and he'd turn his neck down to place a kiss on my temple when he felt my breath change. But we didn't say anything, we didn't feel the need to. We both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
The sun peaked over the horizon and I knew that my fate, our fate, was inevitable. The plan was already set in motion.
Nebula had handed us all our own quantum suit. She briefly explained to us that it was nanotech so the helmet would just rise up itself, not that I didn't already know that.
I was the first to get into the shower. The hot water rolled down my back, scalding red lines across me. I felt numb to the pain, my mind almost already gone into the warrior-like haze that felt familiar and yet foreign at the same time, not having been in actual battle in years.
Once Thor had showered, we pulled on our suits, wearing nothing but light clothes underneath. I made sure to wear my arrow necklace around my neck. My armour had be altered, Hephaestus has truly out done himself here. The metal was accustomed to my body, if it shrunk (just like it did in Wakanda) or if it grew (like with my belly). The uru sword was trapped tightly in my scabbard which I could only use when I activated my charm.
"Do me up?" I asked quietly, turning my head to look at him.
Thor nodded his head, his hair still damp from his shower as it rolled to his shoulders, having grown out since I cut it. He tossed his towel onto the bed and walked towards me. His cold fingers touched my back and trailed up my spine, causing me to shiver slightly, as he did up the small zip.
"Do do think everything will go right?" I asked, the question hanging lowly on both of our minds.
"I think that we all know what we need to do and we're all willing to do whatever it takes to do it," Thor answered, brushing my hair back after finishing with my zip.
"And you're ready to go back to Asgard?" I asked, turning around to face him and I placed my hands on his chest.
"No, not really," he breathed, eyes flitting downwards. "But what choice do I have? We need to get the Aether."
"You're brave, Thor," I said, looking up at him. "Going to Old Panteleimonas was hard enough without a mission."
"Well, I'm not alone, am I?" He said, leaning down to touch our noses.
"No, you're not," I smiled, my fingers tracing his jawline. "You'll always have me."
"We've got this, okay? No matter what happens I know you have my back on the field and you already know I trust you with my life." Thor whispered, holding my cheek and I leaned into his hand and his touch.
"Always," I sighed, agreeing. "Let's just hope that it doesn't come down to anything else."
"Well if it does, we fight. We fight because not only do our lives depend on it, but so does the entire universe. We don't go down without a fight. We're going to live on and we're going to survive," he said, his lips ghosting over mine, our breaths mingling to one. I closed the gap and my heart skipped a beat, his thunderstorm scent hypnotising me. His comfort and warmth that I needed washed over me and his taste silenced those thoughts for that moment.
"I love you."
"And I love you."
Thor and I left hand in hand to the conference room and we all stood in silence as we waited for the entire team to file into the room. The tension in the room was thick, everyone in their own motion of fear and worry but nobody voiced a word, not wanting to plant a seed of doubt in anybody's mind because they all also knew that they very well could do this, they could bring everyone back.
Steve tapped the screen and holograms appeared displaying each of the Stones and their different locations. The meeting was quick, quicker than I thought. It was a simple debrief of the mission, confirming the plan and the objective.
The team left the room and made their way to the quantum tunnel. I breathed deeply in and out, keeping it controlled as we walked in a file across the main entryway and past the windows with the high morning sun. I kept my breathing steady as I stared at the back of Nat's head.
We gathered on the platform, each of us standing an equal distance away from each other, grouped in destinations. I stared at the silver 'A' on my teammate's chests and rolled back my shoulders, if anyone could pull this off it would be us. Bruce stuck out his fist, a lot larger than the rest of ours and the rest followed, putting our hands together in solidarity.
"All right. We have a plan. Six Stones, three teams, one shot," Steve started and I straightened my back. As much as I hated the prepiness of his speeches, they were effective. "Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends...We lost family...We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the Stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win," Steve gave us all a look and I nodded my head at him. "Whatever it takes. Good luck."
"He's pretty good at that," Rocket whispered from the other side of Thor.
"Right?" said Scott.
"All right. You heard the man," said Tony. "Stroke those keys, jolly giant."
Bruce nodded, going back to the side where the control panels are and typed up the few finishing touches. "Tractors engaged."
As Bruce re-joined the circle, I glanced at Nat who was on my other side. I winked at her, psyching her and myself up for this journey.
"See you in a minute," she smiled excitedly.
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