Hero (Loki & Avengers)

Thirty-Nine

The days after the battle are long and hard.

The world is still healing from the disasters caused by even just a few minutes of half of the universe dying. Planes dropped out of the sky when their pilots turned to dust, and children are still healing from the trauma of seeing their parents disappear as they sat at the dinner table.

But everyone came back, and now that the media is beginning to tell the people what really happened, the chaos is dying down.

I still have the Infinity gauntlet fused into my skin, and the glittering gems feel more like a burden than a privilege. Still, we can't risk letting the gauntlet sit around, and we don't know how to destroy it yet.

These few days have been the hardest on Wanda, who is still reeling over the loss of Vision. Tony has been working with Bruce day and night to try and figure out a way to get him back without the Mind stone, and I think they may be close.

But even Wanda agrees we have to destroy the stones eventually. We can't put it back in Vision's head, especially if we would just have to take it out again soon enough.

The Guardians have packed up and moved on, too. Gamora was admittedly upset over the loss of her father, even if her father was a monster like Thanos. Family is still family.

On a brighter note, Secretary Ross has informed us all that the Sokovia Accords have been annulled. He called it thanks for saving the universe.

Cap looks about ten years younger without the weight and worry of being a fugitive on his shoulders.

The United States also pleasantly surprised me when they arrested Mr. Connors for all of his crimes, which includes kidnapping me as well as conspiring against his own laboratory. He'll be locked up for good now, especially with Dylan and mine's testimony against him.

Dylan went home after I finally stopped hugging him after the battle. He ratted out his dad to his family. He's completely and utterly my best friend again, and it feels so good to say that.

My mom came rushing over here when the news of the battle broke. It turns out she didn't turn to ash, thank God, but the patient she was working on at the hospital did. It gave her quite the shock.

We're all a little bit traumatized, and a lot exhausted...but we'll make it through. We always do.

Right now, the fourth morning after the battle, Tony has called all of us to his lab. I walk down next to Loki and Wanda. Nat and I have been keeping a very close eye on her when we can. She's strong, but it still isn't good for anyone to be alone when they lose someone they love.

We walk down silently. I reach for Wanda's hand as we pass the incubator table where Vision has laid motionless for days. She squeezes my hand in gratitude, eyes firmly ahead and away from Vision.

I don't have that much self-control, and I stare in anguish at his lifeless body. I feel a chill pass through me when I see the grayness of him. All the color drained from his figure when we removed the Mind stone. He's never looked more like an android than right now.

We all gather around Tony and Banner, who stand to the side of Vision. The whole gang is here.

Tony, Bruce, Steve, Thor, Natasha, Clint, Sam, Rhodey, Wanda, Peter, Loki, and me. Even Doctor Strange has stayed around while we figure out what to do about the stones, though his wizards returned to protect the New York Sanctum.

To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what the sanctum is.

"I'm just going to cut to the chase. We think we did it, guys." Tony says and Wanda's head pops up.