Resurrection

Chapter Fourteen: Just the Beginning

Chapter Fourteen: Just the Beginning

Earth was in chaos by the time Tony Stark and Nebula arrived in Wakanda. Tony had to admit that he was looking forward to being back home, but the damage was too much to bear. He was barely out of the ship when he was surrounded by so many familiar faces.

"Tony!" shouted Bruce. The two scientist friends embraced in a tearful hug.

Tony pulled back and looked Bruce in the eye. "Did the same thing happen to you too?"

The grim expression on Bruce's face said it all.

"It was bad. We try to stop him, and we failed," Bruce cried, tears streaming down his face.

Tony hugged Bruce even tighter. "We'll find a way. We always do." Tony tried to sound reassuring, but he knew the chances of winning were bleak. He didn't know who he was trying to comfort, Bruce or himself.

"Tony," a heartbreakingly familiar voice called out.

Tony took a deep breath. He wasn't ready for this, but he slowly let go of Bruce and turned around.

Tony already decided that he didn't like the beard. The young boy scout look was still there, but the torn suit, sad face, and facial hair made Steve look so much older.

"It's good to see you, Tony, although I wish it was on better terms," Steve said.

Tony gave a small nod. "Me too."

"Look, Tony, I'm sorry we had a fight and broke up the Avengers. If we hadn't fought, maybe none of this would have happened..." Steve trailed off, a distant look in his eye.

"I'm sorry too. Maybe we can work on it together," Tony suggested. He looked around. Thor, Natasha, Bruce, Shuri, Rhodey, a raccoon, Clint Barton, and a man Tony recognized to be Ant-Man were all there. "Thor, nice haircut. It's different, but it's good. Natasha, you look surprisingly good with blonde hair. Clint, been a while, man."

Clint grunted, looking very unhappy. He had arrived early that morning.

"Where's your war buddy?" Tony asked Steve.

Steve looked downcast. "H-He was...everyone else was...too..."

"Oh." Tony was sorry he had asked.

Nebula stepped down from the ship. "Well, this is a wonderful reunion, but we have more pressing matters at hand."

"Who's this lady?" Ant-Man, Scott Lang, asked.

"Nebula!" the raccoon shouted, shocking Tony.

"The raccoon talks?" Tony asked, his eyes wide.

"Yup," Rhodey said and limped over to give his friend a hug.

Nebula stared at Rocket. "Rocket? How did you get here?"

Rocket pointed at Thor. "The pirate-angel man gave Groot...and...and...me. Are the others okay?"

Nebula clenched her fists and shook her head. "No. Thanos killed them, including my sister. And for that, he needs to die."

Rocket paused and suddenly latched onto Nebula's leg. Under normal circumstances, neither of the two would have hugged anyone, but the depressing situation caused them to leave that behind. Nebula patted the top of Rocket's head.

"Listen, ma'am, but we can't exactly get to Thanos, even if we tried. As far as I've heard, Thanos is gone and we probably won't be seeing him for a while. Besides, how are we going to defeat him? You saw what he did. And even without the stones, he's powerful," Clint pointed out.

Steve and Thor shared knowing glances. Clint stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright! What's going on?" Clint questioned.

"That's what we were going to tell you," Steve began. "We do have a plan, a risky one, but a plan nevertheless. It might work, but..."

"But what?" Clint pressed.

"We don't know for sure if we can trust him," Natasha added.

"Trust who?" Clint was starting to lose his patience.

"Loki," Thor muttered while avoiding eye contact with the archer.

"Loki?!" Clint shouted. "Of course, you can't trust him! if I get my hands on that son of a—"

"Clint," Bruce said softly. "He's dead."

"What?!" Nebula yelled. "How?!"

"What, do you know him?" Tony asked.

"Yes. No. Kind of. I saw him from time to time. We talked whenever my father wasn't around. He was in really bad shape the last time I saw him, which was several years ago," Nebula explained.

"Your father?" Steve asked.

"You knew my brother?" Thor asked.

Nebula stared sadly at Thor. "You're Thor, right?"

Thor nodded.

"He called out for you. He had convinced himself that you would come and rescue him, but you never did. My fath...Thanos used Loki's love for you against him. It was horrific. Nightmares, dreams... Loki couldn't rest when he was unconscious, asleep, or awake. It was terrible!" Nebula continued.

Thor was shocked into silence. Clint, however, was still furious.

"If you knew Loki, how can we be sure that you are entirely trustful? Do you know what he did to me? He turned me into a mind-controlled slave! He made me hurt my friends and colleagues! He killed and destroyed a major part of New York City! Loki should pay for what he has done!" Clint, once again, lost his temper.

"Yeah, Nebula. This Loki guy sounds pretty evil to me. You're a daughter of Thanos. You tried to kill us once. You can't be trusted," Rocket said as he pulled away from Nebula's leg.

That had done it. Nebula lost her own temper. "Can't be trusted?! Thanos is the monster here. For every battle that I lost against my adopted sister Gamora, he took living parts from me and replaced them with metal. He turned me into a freak, a monster, a cyborg! Yes, I did some bad things in the past, but I'm trying to make up for it. You, Rocket, were a thief. If you got a second chance, why can't I?" Nebula exclaimed. She spun on her heel and stormed back into the Black Order's ship. The door closed behind her, but the ship stayed on the ground.

It was silent for a few minutes before Thor spoke up. "I know that my brother can't be trusted, but he's dead. He can't hurt us. I want to avenge his death, and by listening to his plan, it's the only way. Loki is smart. You don't know him as I do. He is different. There's not a day that goes by when he doesn't feel regret and guilt for his crimes. This is a chance for him to make up for all those mistakes. I say we should at least listen to him and give his plan a chance. After all, we all got a second chance. We should give him one too."