Eagle (A Loki love story)

Chapter 156

I was woken very rudely in the dead of night by the raccoon shining a flashlight in my face.

"Come on, come on! Get up! The glowy chick is back with the Milano!" And possibly Stark. I shot out of bed, nearly mowing Rocket down in the process. Fortunately, Dreyma remained asleep in spite of the racket Rocket had made. Grabbing a shirt as an afterthought, I quickly outstripped him and arrived outside just in time to see Carol descend, guiding the massive ship to the ground like nothing. Pepper was already there, seeming on the verge of hyperventilating.

A clean-shaven Steve appeared next to me, and from the red around his eyes, he'd crying not long ago. Facial hair wasn't the best look for him, it aged him significantly. But none of that mattered right now. Stark looked worse than I had ever seen him before, barely able to stand, let alone walk or descend stairs on his own. The blue cyborg, Nebula, was supporting him. But where were the others? I found my eyes searching for Gamora, but she was not to be found.

Steve got to Tony's side first, helping him descend the last couple steps.

"I couldn't stop him." He was breathless. Now that he was closer, I could see his shirt hanging loosely around his form; a far cry from his former glory. There was a reactor glowing dimly on his chest, but no sign of a suit.

"Neither could I."

"I lost–I lost the kid." Did he mean Spider Man? He had to, Peter had been reported missing at the same time.

"Tony, we lost..." Steve clenched his jaw, unable to speak their names. For a moment, Stark looked utterly broken, but then he saw Pepper.

"Oh my God. Oh my God–" I stepped out of earshot, unable to take any more of it. Jealousy and anger blossomed in my chest. They were so lucky! They had each other and a baby on the way! Steve and I shared a moment of solidarity in a look, but this wasn't the time for petty emotions. I joined Rocket and Nebula on the steps of the Milano, praying for different news. But the looks on their faces said it all. Everyone who had been on the ship when they found Thor, Mira, Dreyma, and I, were gone. Nebula's presence here proved her disloyalty to Thanos beyond any doubt, not that I had had much in the first place.

Bruce set Tony up with an IV and sat him in a wheelchair, and for once received no protests. Then, Steve began the rundown.

"It's been twenty three days since Thanos came to Earth." Pictures flashed on the screens of the team members and other associates that had been lost.

"World governments are...in pieces. Those that are still working are trying to take a census, and it looks like he did...." Tony looked away when Peter's image appeared, "He did exactly what he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out 50% of all living creatures." Carol showed a surprising amount of emotion when she saw Fury. As for me, I knew where Mira's image was in the lineup, and so averted my eyes to subdue the pain. Thor was sulking in the next room. The Asgardians had yet to arrive, so we had been forced to assume the worst.

"Where is he now? Where?"

"We don't know. He just....opened a portal and walked through." Tony looked dejected, but I detected a fair amount of disappointment mixed in.

"What's wrong with him?" He pointed to Thor.

"Ah, he's pissed." Rocket answered, "He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but ya know, there's a lotta that going around, ain't there?" He wasn't wrong, but the primary blame did rest on Thor.

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were Build-A-Bear."

"Maybe I am." If not for the situation, those two would have probably gotten along famously.