Chapter 25

Everyone gathered on the deck of the Hellicarrier and said their goodbyes as Loki and I mentally prepared for the mission. Bucky had his arms around me and was holding me in a tight hug as Pepper walked over to us. She wiped the tears from her eyes and Bucky let go, letting Pepper take his spot. I inhaled her vanilla scent and smiled as comfort washed over me. She sniffed and wiped her eyes again as she let me go and stepped back, standing with Tony.

"Alright, as soon as you get there turn on your devices. I wanna see everything." Fury ordered as he tapped his left temple.

"We will." I nodded. Bucky rushed over and quickly kissed me, wrapping his arms around me one last time. Tony gently pulled him away from me and he sighed as he joined them. The other Avengers and allies waved as Loki put his arm around my waist. I pulled away and placed my hand on his shoulder instead. He rolled his eyes and called on Heimdall, a white beam flashed down on us. I closed my eyes and inhaled as it pulled us up and away from Earth and our friends. I was nervous as hell about going, terrified I would die there. But if it meant getting information and helping save Earth, it was going to be worth it.

*1 Month Later. Third Person POV*

The Jet landed in the large 100 acer field and the ramp lowered. Nick Fury, Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes walked out and stared at the small farm house to their left. A family of six came rushing out, the men all holding shotguns and ushering the women to stay behind them.

"I didn't expect her to be from a farm family." Bucky said as he crossed his arms and looked around. Happy joined the men and his eyes went wide when he spotted the guns.

"Who the hell are you?!" The oldest man yelled out.

"Nick Fury, Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark and Happy Hogan." Fury shouted out to the group.

"Tony Stark as in the billionaire??" The older woman asked as she pushed through the group.

"The one and only." Tony smiled.

"You're Alex's boss." She said as she pushed her husbands gun down and away from the men. The others did the same and the woman motioned for them to come inside.

Once inside the small house she offered the men some drinks, but they all rejected it. They were here on important business and didn't want to waste anymore time. They sat the family around the table and Fury set two thick brief cases, each holding high tech laptops inside, in the center of the table for everyone to see.

"What's this about? Is Alex in trouble?" Her aunt asked as she crossed her arms.

"Why would you think that?" Tony asked, raising a brow. He knew Alex was adopted, he knew her adoptive parents died a few years later and her adoptive mom's sister got custody of her, he knew they were simple people with a large farm that made them money, but that was it. Alex never talked about her family. He was always curious about her relationship with them.

"That girl is nothing but trouble." Her uncle laughed before spitting into an old coke bottle. It was half full of black gunk and Tony cringed because he knew that gunk was spit mixed with chewing tobacco.

"We've done a deep dive into her background, she's never had issues with the law or school or any authority." Tony argued as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but she never listens. Would always run off, never did her chores, never got along with her cousins, real black sheep type of kid." He shrugged. That angered Tony because it was clear they made her feel that way. Her actions were a result of how she was treated.

"Maybe if you treated her better she wouldn't have had so many issues." Tony snapped back at the man. 

"Enough!" Fury yelled. He turned on the laptops and crossed his arms as he motioned for the family to look at them. On the screen was a picture of Alex in her uniform standing next to Loki in his. They were standing with their arms crossed, shoulders touching. Alex was smiling at the camera but Loki's brows were furrowed in annoyance. The picture was taken a few months after Alex became an Avenger.

"Ain't that the guy who tried to blow up New York?" One of her cousins asked as he looked over at Fury.

"That's Loki, yes." Fury nodded. He clicked the right arrow key and another picture of Alex and Loki slid on the screen. This one was taken during battle. Fury had grabbed it from Hawkeye's recording. Alex floated about 10 feet above the ground and her arms were pushed out from her body, a large rock floated in front of her. Her brows were furrowed and she was mid scream. Loki floated to her left, his hand around the throat of another being from the other universe. This was during a small battle with another small platoon of men who crossed over to their universe, 6 months after the first encounter.

"She a bad guy or something??" One of her cousins asked with wide eyes.

"How the hell is she doing that??" Her aunt gasped.

"Photoshopped for sure." Another cousin laughed.

"I assure you it isn't. Alex was victim of an explosion that almost claimed her life. Through some science shit, she ended up with powers. I don't have time nor do I want to go into how and why. Point is, she's a powerful being. She's been working with Loki and helping the Avengers." Fury harshly said as he clicked the arrow key again. This time it pulled a video over, the video was paused.

"My people have recording devices in their eyes and ears so I can see and hear what happens on their missions. Alex and Loki were instructed to turn theirs on as soon as they landed." Fury explained.

"This one is Alex's view and this one is Loki." He added as he pointed to one laptop and then the other, pressing play on both.

"Hey Fury!" Alex smiled at the camera. 

"She does that on every mission." Fury smiled a little as she watched the video with the family. He's always liked Alex, she was strong-willed and a good person. Even when he threatened her the day they first met, he never meant it. He knew she was just trying to show Loki kindness and fun, but he also knew the President would have a fit over it. And he did.

"So, we're here. Now what?" Alex asked as she walked through the flower field they had landed in. Loki's camera was on her at all times, like he couldn't look anywhere else.

"Since we arrived during the night, we should set up camp and then move out tomorrow." Loki replied. Alex stopped and looked around their surroundings, she looked over to the thick woods and pointed without saying a word. Loki's screen flashed for a second and he appeared inside of the woods.

"Good spot!" He called out. Alex walked through the trees and stood next to Loki in the small clearing in the woods. Alex brought over some branches with her abilities and set them in a triangle, placing some rocks around as a boarder. Loki snapped his fingers, catching the sticks on fire and Alex sat down, crossing her legs.

"What's going on?" Her aunt asked as she looked from the video and over at Fury.

"They set up camp for the night. They do some talking and then go to sleep. I'll fast forward it." Fury began to reach out for the keyboard but Alex's aunt stopped him.

"I wanna hear it. I haven't heard her voice in so long." She softly said. Tony relaxed his tense jaw as he watched her aunt pull away and look back at the screen. He could tell they cared about it, it just seemed like they had a hard time showing it.

"I've been wondering something." Loki suddenly said. Everyone looked back to the recordings as Loki's attention fell on Alex. The light from the fire illuminated her face as she looked down into her lap.

"What?" Alex asked the God as she looked over at him.

"Why did they implant that horrid device in you? Why would Tony let them do such a thing?" He harshly asked the girl. Alex's aunt paused the video as she snapped her eyes to Tony and he sighed as he looked down, knowing what she was going to ask.

"What device?"

"One that emits electric stimulations through Alex's body, stunning her..." Tony explained, his voice soft and embarrassed. He hated that she had one in her, but he had no say in it.

"Why does she have it??" Her aunt asked. Before he could answer Fury unpaused the video and nodded to the screen.

"Tony didn't know until after they did it." Alex replied.

"And Fury?" Loki asked, crossing his arms.

"He....did what he was told to do. It was my fault anyway." She shrugged.

"How so?" Loki narrowed his eyes and raised a brow as he stared at the girl. She inhaled and looked down to her lap as her brows furrowed.

"I...tried to run away." She admitted.

"From the Avengers?" Loki asked, relaxing his face.

"From the galaxy." Alex replied. Loki tisked as he pulled one leg up and rested his arm on his knee as he leaned back.

"Brad didn't really like that." She added, laughing a little.

"Why would you do such a thing?" The God asked her. Alex went silent for a moment and then licked her lips as she looked up into the God's eyes.

"I was hurting. It was a year after you left. Fury already had the funerals for you and Thor. I...believed you died and I didn't want to, I dunno..." Alex sighed as she looked down.

"I didn't want to be around things and people that reminded me of you." She said as she looked back up at him. Loki dropped his leg and swallowed hard as he looked at her with soft eyes.

"And since you and I have traveled the galaxy together, I had to leave it." She added as she shrugged a little.

"I am sorry I left you." Loki softly said, nodding a little.

"Why did you? I mean, I know why you left Earth, but why me?" She asked, her eyes narrowing and her head shaking as she crossed her arms. Fury paused the video and looked over at Alex's family, seeing their confused faces he figured he better explain a little.

"Loki wasn't just a mad man who attacked New York. He's a God from another world." Fury bluntly said as he crossed his arms.

"He and Alex had formed a relationship overtime and he left about a year and 7 months ago to fight in a war for his people. Alex tried to go with him, he refused and left her." He said, nodding to the pair on the screens.

"She was doing an alien??" One of her younger cousins laughed.

"A God." Tony corrected the boy. He cringed at the thought of Alex doing anything with anyone, but he felt the need to correct the kid. Alex wasn't just involved with some alien like the boy implied. She was in love with a God, and he loved her back. Tony figured that that deserved a little respect.

"Back to the recording." Fury said as he hit play and took a step back.

"If I had brought you and something happened, I would have never forgiven myself." Loki answered honestly, shrugging a little and dropping his head as he licked his lips.

"I would have been fine." Alex scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"Maybe. Or you could have been killed." Loki argued as he looked up at the girl.

"You didn't believe I was strong enough to help your people, did you?" She let out a scoffed laugh.

"Or was it that you thought I wasn't good enough to fight along side a God." She harshly added.

"That is not why!" Loki yelled at her before standing up and dusting his clothes off. He stared down at her and clenched his jaw as his brows furrowed.

"Then why!?" She yelled back as she also stood up. Loki's breathing began to quicken and he grippe his hands into a fist as he looked away from the girl.

"Why Loki!" She yelled again. Loki snapped his eyes on her and inhaled hard before lashing out at her.

"Because I loved you!" He yelled. Alex's angry face quickly fell to a surprised one and her tense body relaxed as she inhaled a little. She closed her mouth and Loki looked away from her as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I did not want to lose you. You were the first being I had ever felt love for. I would have been devastated if you were hurt, or worse." Loki explained as he looked back at her. Alex looked down to the ground and it was clear she didn't know what to say.

"So, no, Alex, it wasn't that I thought you were too weak or not deserving to fight by my side. I left you on Earth because I loved you and needed to protect you." Loki's words turned soft and he sat back down, sighing as he looked over to the fire.

Alex's aunt paused the video and inhaled as she leaned back in her chair, letting out an exhale as she relaxed. She shook her head and stared at the screen, at the look of realization on Alex's face as she stared at Loki.

"She didn't know." Her aunt sighed.

"Loki has never been the emotional type. I've never even heard him say that word until I watched this recording." Tony shrugged. Bucky felt a familiar pull in his chest, hearing Loki say those words to Alex and her reaction. He had planned on telling her he loved her at their 6 month anniversary dinner, but that never happened. A small part of him told him Alex loved him, a larger part told him she still had something for Loki. Alex's aunt leaned forward and pressed play before leaning back in her chair again.

Alex slowly sat back down and stared at the fire as she brought her knees to her chest. She laid her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes as a silence fell between them. She tilted her head and stared off into the dark forest around them before looking back over at the God.

"Loki." She softly said.

"What." He asked, not looking up at her.

"Do you still love me?" She asked him. Loki tensed up and looked over at Alex, her eyes filling up with tears.

"I could never stop." He admitted. Alex's brows furrowed and she dropped her head to her knees again as she wiped the tears from her face. She inhaled and looked back over at the God, his soft eyes still fixated on her.

"Loki."

"Yeah?" He asked her.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said as she looked over at the God.

"When you first appeared in the kitchen, I thought I had gone crazy." She laughed a little.

"You very well could have." Loki chuckled a little as he looked away from her and to the fire.

"What do you mean??" Alex asked. Loki returned his attention to Alex and her brow was raised. 

"Sometimes the human brain can....give you a false view or memory. If a human wants something enough, if they have gone through enough trauma, if they are unstable enough, their brain can manipulate their perception of reality." The God explained. Alex watched as he slowly laid back and stared up at the trees above them. She crawled over to him and laid next to him, looking up at the trees too. Bucky was getting uncomfortable because he knew what was coming next. He had watched this video a few times before they got here.

"How would I know if my brain manipulated my reality to believe you're here?" She asked Loki.

"Worried that that happened are we?" Loki smirked at her. 

"Well....I did want you to come back. I believed you were still alive for the longest time. I pictured you in bed with me every night for a year." Alex whispered as she looked away from him.

"How do I know your really here?" She added, her voice was so low it was almost as if she were talking to herself.

"I could kiss you and then you'd know how real I am." Loki whispered to her. Alex glared over at him and it was clear he was completely serious about his offer. She looked back up to the trees and sighed, not answering him.

"I'm really here, Alex. I've interacted with others. You aren't in some looney bin talking to yourself in a padded room." Loki rolled his eyes as he looked away from her.

"How would I know though? Wouldn't my brain just be telling me that to keep the manipulation up?" She asked as she looked over at him.

"Your brain would have to be desperate enough to make up all of the events that happened since my arrival. Broken enough. Yours isn't." He assured her. Silence fell between them and Alex looked back up at the trees, her eyes carefully examining each leaf.

"Alex?" Loki suddenly but quietly asked.

"Yeah?" She replied, neither looking away from the trees.

"Why Bucky?" Loki asked as he looked over at Alex. 

"What's he mean? Are you dating Alex?" Her aunt asked as she looked over at Bucky. He nodded and clenched his jaw as he looked down, knowing what was coming.

"Because he was there for me. He's sweet, kind, caring. He helped me through....losing...you." Alex's voice was soft as she replied.

"But out of all the humans, why him? I'm sure Peter was the same way, why not him? Why not anyone else?" Loki's words got harsher the more he spoke and it was clear he had harsh feelings towards Bucky.

"What's your problem with Bucky, Loki??" Alex asked, her words also turning harsh to match his. She also sat up and crossed her arms as she stared down at him.

"Since the day I met him, you've had it out for Bucky. Why? He's done nothing wrong! He's a great Avenger and an amazing guy! All you do is shit on everyone around you an-" 

"Because he is me!" Loki yelled as he sat up. Alex's chest raised slightly as she inhaled and furrowed her brows.

"What?" She asked him, her annoyance and anger turning to curiosity.

"He and I are the same. He was an enemy of the Avengers! Forced to do things he didn't want to do! Killing innocent people. Hunting down members of the Avengers. But when Steve broke through to him he suddenly became Bucky, American hero! He was praised, welcomed with open arms and love!" Loki yelled, his camera view becoming cloudy with tears.

"And what of me? I was treated as if I had tried to destroy the entire world. I've killed less than most of the Avengers. I've done everything in my power to prove to them that I'm trustworthy, a good person at the core and all they've done is shit on me! I'm just Loki, the adopted brother of Thor. I'm welcomed with dirty looks and glares from my teammates." His voice cracked a little and Alex's face dropped as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

"Oh Loki." She whispered as she leaned forward and hugged the God as tightly as she could. Loki silently sobbed in her arms as he wrapped his around her body. 

The room fell silent as they watched the recordings. Alex's aunt dabbed the tears that began to form and sighed as she dropped her hand. Bucky put his hands behind his back and looked away from the laptops. He knew Loki was right. He never realized how it effected Loki and it made him feel terrible.

"Does he make you happy?" Loki asked, still holding on to Alex.

"....not as happy as you made me...but yeah, he does." She whispered.

Bucky inhaled and exhaled as he looked back at the laptops, his eyes low with pain. He liked Alex, he saw a future with her. But he also knew she still loved Loki. He knew it when they began dating but he thought he could replace that love with himself. But when he saw the way she looked at him the day he came back, he knew there was no replacing that. She still loved him. She always would.

"Then why are you with him?" Loki asked, pulling away from Alex and wiping his tears.

"Loki, I'm not in the mood to talk about this." Alex sighed as she let her arms drop from the God and laid back down. Loki didn't argue with her like he normally does. He silently laid back down and stared up at the trees.

"The fall asleep not long after and wake up the next morning." Fury explained as he pressed fast forward. The black screens both opened up as the pair woke up together. Alex yawned and Loki stretched as he stood up and looked around.

"From there we see them start their mission. They fly around the world and speak to different leaders and scientists. Earth and Tronlet are familiar with one another, they know who the Avengers are. We've done some trading in information and supplies over the past 5 years." Fury explained as he pressed fast forward again. Loki had put an illusion on Alex and himself to make them look like the yellow people of Tronlet. They snuck around the towns and cities, avoiding the civilians and making their way into the different capital buildings.

"What was the point in this?" Alex's uncle asked, spitting again.

"To gather information about a world threat approaching us. The next planet on that list was Tronlet, then Earth. Alex and Loki's jobs were to get information from the leaders without alerting civilians or military that they were there." Bucky explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why? Why not just show up and tell them what's going on??" Her aunt asked them.

"Tronlet is split into 6 sectors. Those sectors are like countries. They each have a single leader backed by a government, only those with high enough clearance know about life on other worlds. It would cause mass panic if civilians knew. Keeping a low profile is always best." Fury answered. The video continued in a fast speed, showing Alex and Loki in and out of disguises as they travels the world. Fury finally stopped it when they returned to their camp in the woods.

"This is where things get...scary. I'll stop it if any of you ask." Fury softly said as he pressed play. The pair landed at their normal speed and Alex crossed her arms as she looked at Loki.

"Earthquakes happening where they shouldn't be, birds flying away in mass quantities, ocean levels fluxing within abnormal parameters... something's coming. There's been no sign of any being coming from space. I assume he's already here." She said as she shook her head and sighed.

"Alright, I want you two to stay for a few more days but if anything happens that is life threatening, get the fuck out." Fury's voice said from the other side of the recording. It recorded both ends.

"Alri-" Alex began to reply but the ground under them began to shake, causing her to stop and brace herself against a tree. Trees around them snapped in half as the shaking continued, becoming more violent with every passing second.

"Alex!" Loki yelled out. The top half of the tree Alex was leaning against snapped in half and came tumbling down on her. It went through her and she climbed up on the side of it as she looked around the woods.

"Oh my gosh." Her aunt gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand. Her cousins crowded around their mom and comforted her as they watched the screens. Her uncle stared with wide eyes.

"Where arrreeee you heroes?" A harsh and distorted voice called out from the distance. The shaking stopped and Loki grabbed Alex's hand, disappearing from the woods and reappearing in the flower field, giving them a better view of what was happening. Alex pulled away from Loki and sprinted to the edge of the cliff the field sat on. She gasped as she stared down at the world below them. Fires raged on through the nearby city, screaming filled the air and buildings came crashing down from the shakes. 

"We have to help them!" She yelled out as she looked back at Loki.

"No! Get out of there!" Fury yelled back at her.

Alex's aunt quickly paused the video and snapped her attention to Fury, who was looking down at the floor.

"You wanted them to leave those people?" She asked him, disgust in her voice.

"Their world was splitting into two, ma'am. There was nothing they could have done. No way to get anyone out." Fury explained as he looked back at Alex's aunt. The woman's harsh eyes fell as she realized he was right. Alex and Loki were just two people, they couldn't have done anything to help the millions on the planet escape. She sighed and pressed play on the video, her one child rubbing her arm as they watched on.

"We can't!" Alex yelled. The ground began to shake under them again and suddenly split it half, just like Fury said it did. Alex fell through but quickly flew out of the large crack. She and Loki flew farther into the air to avoid any more danger and Alex began to cry as she looked around the destroyed world. It was falling apart before her eyes.

"There you are!" The same harsh distorted voice yelled out. The pair turned around and Alex gasped and Loki pushed her behind him as they stared at the dark figure in the distance. He had a thick black hood on, hiding his face and he was standing on the head of a large worm like creature that had half of it's body in the ground. The worm had no eyes and millions of sharp teeth in it's circular mouth. It roared so loud the trees shook from the vibrations. The figure pointed to Loki and Alex and the creature dove into the ground as the figure leaped into the air. 

"Alex, go!" Loki yelled out. But she didn't move. Alex was frozen with fear as the ground exploded under them, the creature flinging itself towards them.

"Oh my god." Alex's uncle choked out as he looked away. Fury paused the video and allowed the family a few minutes to calm down and gather themselves before playing it again.

Alex snapped out of her fear and threw her hands together, intertwining her fingers as she held the earth around the creature, keeping it in place. The figure began to chuckle, his distorted voice sending shivers down Alex's spine. She struggled to keep the large creature there, but she was managing better than she expected.

"This version of you is much stronger than the others!" The figure laughed. Alex screamed as she began to shake, using all of her strength to keep the creature in the ground. It roared out as it began to flail in it's place.

"Loki! Get the fuck out of there!" Fury's voice yelled at them. Loki threw his arm around Alex and flew backwards as she held the creature in place, giving them some distance. He flew them backwards as Alex's breathing turned rapid and her body tense, using all she had to keep the ground together.  Alex's hands dropped and her camera feed cut off as she passed out in Loki's arms.

"Heimdall!!" Loki screamed out once they were far enough. Loki's view turned bright white and then both feeds cut off, turning to static.

Tony and Bucky both looked away, trying to hide their fear and worry as Fury paused the video and sighed. The family slowly looked over to the trio of men but no one said a word. They didn't even know what to ask.

"That was a month ago. We haven't heard from either since." Fury finally admitted.

"W-What does that m-mean? Is sh- are they dead??" Her aunt asked, tears pooling up in her eyes.

"No." Fury quickly replied as he pulled up their vitals on the screen.

"This is their vitals. Both have been active since the feed went static. They're alive." He explained. The family looked at the screen and Alex's youngest cousin furrowed her brows as she studied the vitals.

"She's barely alive." She whispered.

"But she is alive." Fury argued.

"How don't you know where they are??" Her uncle scoffed.

"Loki is from another world. He and his people have a gate keeper called Heimdall. That's who Loki called on. That's how they travel to other worlds and realms." Fury explained as he rewound the video and played the part where Loki called on his keeper.

"So, why not ask that Heim guy where they are?" Alex's oldest cousin asked.

"Because he didn't take them off the planet." Tony said as he reached over and slowed Loki's sound and video down.

"He doesn't even finish the name before the beam comes down on them. And when we asked the keeper, he said he never sent the beam to them." He added as he pressed play and showed them.

"He said it was too dangerous to bring them back. It would risk bringing the world eater back with them." Bucky said as he crossed his arms.

"Jesus Christ..." Her aunt cried out as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"So, who took them?" Her uncle asked as he set his bottle down and furrowed his brows at the men.

"We think the being who's been destroying worlds." Fury answered him while crossing his arms.

"Why?" Alex's cousin asked as she moved away from her mom and back to her seat at the table.

"The being was destroying one world every week, but he stopped after Tronlet." Tony said as he uncrossed his arms and dropped them to his sides.

"After he took Alex and Loki." Bucky added.

"You think that has something to do with it?" Alex's older cousin asked them.

"Yeah. When we took in the first set of beings that worked for the figure in the video, they kept staring at Alex and Loki. We thought it was just because of how they were sitting on the jet." Tony began.

"But, in the video it's clear the figure was after them. He called them out, he knew they would be there. He commented on Alex in this universe verses her other selves." Fury continued.

"And the world destroying stopped after he took them." Bucky finished.

"....why are you telling us this?" Her aunt suddenly asked, wiping the tears from her face.

"To give you some form of comfort. She's been gone for a month, I'm sure you've been wondering what happened. We have teams out and searching the space around where Tronlet was, looking for any clues." Fury explained as he placed his hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Well, thank you." She nodded as she looked down.

"We're doing everything we can to find them. They weren't the first to go missing from our team but they will be the last. We will find them all and stop this...figure." Fury assured the family. They seemed to find comfort in his words because they relaxed and nodded as they sat in silence. Fury packed up his laptops and then men exited the small house. They got back on the jet and sat in silence as their thoughts ran wild.

"We will find them." Fury said again, this time to his men.

"I swear it."

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