Reunited into a single, and smaller, team after Thanos succeeded in collecting all six Infinity Stones and eliminated half of the entire universe, the Avengers gathered in an uneasy alliance in the depths of the Avengers compound in upstate New York. Licking their wounds and collecting their thoughts the Avengers hid away in the sanctuary of their compound as they attempted to locate Thanos and find a way to undo the catastrophic damage he had committed against trillions of innocent lives.

Tony 'Iron Man' Stark was sitting alone in his workshop, his hand pressed to his healing injury to his abdomen beneath the thick white bandages. Lost in thought and emotional turmoil after witnessing so much death, watching Peter 'Spiderman' Parker dying in his arms, seeing Doctor Stephen Strange turn to ash and fade away to nothingness after he sacrifice the Time Stone to save Tony's life had taken it's toll on the normally unflappable engineer.

Steve 'Captain America' Rogers felt as though he failed as the leader of the team and was no longer worthy of such a title. The deaths of James 'Bucky/'Winter Soldier' Barnes and Sam 'the Falcon' Wilson had proven especially painful as they were two of his closest and most loyal friends. How could he justify his actions knowing that he let his friends die?

Thor, the God of Thunder and rightful King of Asgard, had taken it upon himself at act as temporary leader to the team. The distraction of leading the Avengers kept his mind from drifting back to the demise of Asgard and how he had come so close to defeating Thanos only to watch him snap his fingers and eliminate half of the universe.

Loki, the God of Mischief and Magic, had survived his injury from the literal hand of Thanos and had been found by Tony when he and Nebula, the daughter of Thanos and honorary member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, had set out to return to Earth from the planet Titan. Loki was barely alive, extremely weak and unable to defend himself when he had been rescued from the endless drift of the cosmos; but thanks to quick intervention and a lot of rest he was well on his way to recovery.

Nebula herself had chosen to reside in an undisclosed location in the depths of space. Using communication links to remain in contact with the Avengers on Earth the reclusive and emotionally distraught cybernetic woman spent her time trying to track down Thanos and the rest of his children in an effort to bring him to justice for the murder of her sister, Gamora.

Rocket Raccoon, the only survivor and full member of the Guardians of the Galaxy accompanied Nebula in effort to gather alien weaponry used by Thanos' children and modify the collected weapons to use for their own advantage. Rocket was also lonely without his teammates and friends, but refused to admit it.

Dr. Bruce Banner had confined himself to his private quarters in an effort to finally understand the Hulk, to truly understand himself and why the 'other guy' was so afraid to show himself when faced with a challenge. Unable to fully recall the events that the Hulk experienced Bruce was unable to remember the violent beating Thanos gave to the Hulk; all Bruce could remember was Thor and Loki facing off against Thanos when he resumed his natural form on Earth.

Natasha 'Black Window' Romanoff had spent her time watching over the team, acting like a big sister that everyone needed during the time of crisis. As someone who had seen more than her fair share of disasters and heartbreaks she was somewhat of an expert with matters revolving around rebuilding teams and restoring faith.

Colonel James 'Rhodey/WarMachine' Rhodes was spending time working with the government, explaining what had happened in Wakanda and what Thanos had done to the rest of the universe. Information on the Infinity Stones was intentionally left out as a precautionary measure in the event that someone with too much authority and anger sought to accomplish the same feat as Thanos. Being away from his team was difficult at the moment, but he knew it was a necessary pain he'd have to endure for the sake of everyone else.

"You need to stop acting like you died along with them, Tony." Bruce urged as he joined his friend in the unusually quiet workshop. Taking a seat beside his still healing friend he put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "We can't give up. Not now. Not yet."

"I can still hear him." Tony lamented as he fought to restrain his welling up tears. "He begged me to help, to keep him with him. But... There was nothing I could do. I was supposed to look out for him, protect him. And I couldn't."

"You seriously think you can overpower to entire universe?"

"No. But I should be able to stop one man."

"One monster." Bruce corrected Tony with a serious facade. "And trust me, I know a thing or two about trying to tame a monster."

"But your monster isn't trying to wipe out the universe."

"As far as I know." Bruce retracted his hand from Tony's shoulder. "I can't answer for him anymore than he can answer for me." His eyes looked down at the bandages wrapped around Tony's abdomen and decided to change the subject. "How do you feel?"

"Skewered."

"You're lucky, you know?"

"Only compared to the rest of the team."

"Come on, don't do this to yourself."

"What? Admit I failed?"

"You didn't fail! We... We all had a part to play and it... It just wasn't enough."

"So what now? We just keep adding to the team until we have an entire army for Thanos to wipe out with the snap of his fingers?"

"There will be no such sacrifice." Thor responded as he entered the workshop and eyed his friends curiously. "We shall find a way to locate Thanos and undo the atrocity and genocide he has unjustly committed against the universe."

"How?" Tony questioned bitterly, wincing as he yelled as even the effort of speaking caused him pain.

"We take the Infinity Stones for ourselves."

"Oh," he looked at Bruce before rolling his eyes. "so easy!"

"I admit this task will be a terrible challenge," Thor admitted as stood before his teammates proudly. "but once we succeed we shall bring Thanos to justice."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself." Tony noted as he fought to push through his pain. The medication Bruce had given him earlier was began to wear off and the pain was returning.

"There is a single item buried in a hidden spring, here, on Earth. This item is a stone of incredible power that was rumored to be counteract the power of the Infinity Stones."

"A rumor hidden somewhere on Earth?" Tony sighed and winced again. "You weren't kidding about this being a challenge!"

Bruce immediately took notice of the pain that Tony was unable to hide. "He's going to go find the rumor, you're going to stay here and heal."

"Hey, this is my compound! You can't tell-"

"Banner is correct Friend Stark." Thor wasn't about to let Tony go on a mission while injured. "You must remain here until you've recovered."

Tony was too sore and too tired to argue. "Okay, fine... But you can't go on any revenge missions without me. Deal?"

"Of course." Thor patted Tony's shoulder once, careful not to jostle the wounded engineer too much. "Banner, you will also remain here and tend to his injury."

"No problem. I mean, it's not like the 'other guy' is ready to make any appearances anyway."

"Then we are in agreement."

"However," Tony reached out and grabbed onto Thor's arm. "you're taking Cap' with you. I don't want to deal with him yet."

"Very well." Thor nodded slowly. "It would do the captain good to return to the field and succeed."

"Right. That." Tony let go of Thor's arm and waved him away. "Go do your thing and take Cap' along for a ride."

Natasha had overheard the booming voice of Thor and had been listening in on the conversation ever since. Appearing in the doorway she gave the three men a sly glance. "Count me in. I need to get out of here, stretch my legs for a while."

"Of course." Thor passed her through the doorway and openly allowed her to join him on his mission. "I will require an expert pilot at the helm."

"Do you know where this stone is?" Natasha asked as he walked at Thor's side.

"I have an approximation. But it will take more enhanced magic than my own to locate it."

"Magic?" She suddenly stopped short. "Are you taking Loki with you?"

"Loki is the only one who can locate such a stone." Thor explained without breaking stride. "We need his help."

"Is he ready to get back out there? I mean... His neck..."

"Loki has been gravely wounded, ye, but he is healing rapidly. I am certain he will agree to join us."

Natasha shook her head as she resumed walking after Thor. "And I'll be keeping my eye on him..."

"Oh?" Thor slowed his pace as he looked to his colleague as tried to understand her hesitation. "Do you mistrust my brother, Agent Romanoff?"

"You know I do." Natasha replied venomously. "I know he's your brother and I know he's made efforts to redeem himself, but he still took innocent lives. One was a friend."

"Phil, son of coul." Thor knew all too well to whom she was referring. "His mind was not his own when he attacked our friend, I have explained this."

"Right. Loki was under the influence of the Mind Stone inside the scepter before Thanos gave it to him, and he only regained his senses after he lost contact with the scepter and took a blow to the head. I remember."

"Yet you doubt his claim?" Thor preemptively hated himself for his next statement, but knew it needed to be said. "Friend Barton had suffered the same as Loki. Only regaining himself after you-"

"Don't compare Clint to Loki, they are nothing alike!"

"Very well." Thor backed down from the discussion and resumed his mission at hand. "I will inform Loki of our mission if you will tell Friend Rogers-"

"Yeah, I'll go get Steve."

Thor watched as Natasha marched off with purpose, her anger and resentment toward Loki being repressed professionally as she knew just as well as Thor that they couldn't afford to push away anyone who could act as a potential ally and give them an advantage over Thanos.

Making his way down the corridor leading to the private quarters all assigned to the Avengers and the select few who were permitted to stay inside the compound, Thor knocked on the closed door that housed the quarters assigned to his brother. There wasn't a reply but Thor didn't expect one. Opening the door he peered inside the dimly lit room and spotted Loki sitting on the edge of his bed with his hand rubbing at the back of his sore neck.

Loki had removed his armor and was wearing a thin, long sleeved black tunic and black slacks. His complexion was paler than usual with a faint tint of blue and even from the distance Thor could see that there was still an alarming amount of red in Loki's eyes that made his green irises shine brightly in the poor lighting.

"Brother, we have a mission."

"And this concerns me, why?" Loki asked bitterly as he retracted his hand and looked up at Thor with his tired eyes. "I am... weak."

"For now, perhaps, but you will regain your strength in time."

"Time is a construct on man." He quipped sarcastically. "Or so I've been told."

"Loki, please, do not be difficult."

"I am not being difficult." Standing up from the bed he took a shaking step toward his brother Loki struggled to stand upright and look composed. "I am being realistic. I cannot engage in combat. Even the most frail of opponents could easily out maneuver me."

"There is no combat with this mission. We are merely seeking an artifact the even the odds against Thanos."

"Artifact?" Loki's eyes flashed with curiosity as he mentally chronicled all of the ancient weapons, tools and artifacts that had been apart of Asgardian history and Midgardian mythology. "Do you speak of the Stone of Absolution?"

"I do."

"Brother, the stone was lost millennia ago when the Midgardians began warring with one another over land disputes and governments. Even our Father could not locate the stone and return it to the vault."

"I have an ally who has been researching our history along with the history of Earth. He has located numerous springs and buried temples once used as bridges between our realms."

"And from there we can track down a single artifact that no one has seen in thousands of years and has no record of its existence beyond our own memories of Mother's lessons?"

"It is currently our best option for the moment."

"Is our best option, or our only option?" Loki questioned with palpable doubt.

"Come." Thor reached out and put his hand on Loki's shoulder. "We need you. I need you, brother."

"Very well." Loki accepted the request though he was still unconvinced of their possible success. "I will accompany you. But I must remind you that my power has been all but drained."

"I understand."

Natasha was at the helm of the Quinjet preparing for takeoff with Steve accompanying her while they waited for Thor and Loki to join them. Displaying a more guarded facade than normal Natasha stared intently at the control panel as she readied herself for a new mission with her allies and one unexpected addition to the team.

"You okay, Nat?" Steve asked as he stood behind her seat and tilted his head so he could look at her eyes.

"Fine."

"No, you're not." Steve sat in the unoccupied seat next to her in the cockpit. "What's on your mind? You worried about the mission?"

"I'm worried about the mission be sabotaged."

"Loki."

"Yeah, Loki."

"Nat, you saw how banged up he was after Thanos attacked him. Thor was convinced he had died!"

"Right, and now he's here. With us."

Steve shook his head. "Look, I don't expect you to trust Loki or even like the guy, but I do expect you to give him a chance. It's not like we all don't have mistakes in our pasts we wish we could forget about."

Natasha gave Steve an odd look but didn't argue. "Buckle up. As soon as they're onboard we're out of here."

No sooner had Steve left the cockpit and taken a seat behind Natasha toward the center of the quinjet did Thor and Loki board the craft. Thor took his seat in the cockpit to help Natasha navigate while Loki took a seat in the middle as well, sitting as far away from the cockpit as possible.

"Ready?" Natasha asked as she pressed a switch that opened the hangar doors hidden inside the compound.

"Ready." Thor confirmed as he looked back at the other two occupants of the plane. "We must make haste."

"Right." Natasha easily maneuvered the quinjet from the hangar and took off into the sky in search of the elusive Stone of Absolution. "Point me in the right direction."

"It shouldn't be too far." Thor replied as he remembered all of the information that Dr. Eric Selvig had uncovered. "We must check the cliffs of Norway."

"Norway it is."

Loki leaned forward in his seat, his hand returning to the back of his still healing neck. Even the power of the God of Mischief's magic wasn't enough to completely heal the broken bones, severed tendons and damaged nerves as quickly as one would hope. The pain was it's own other problem that took its toll on Loki's magic reserves as well.

Steve noticed Loki's discomfort, not just physically but mentally and decided to extend the proverbial olive branch to his former enemy. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Pardon?" Loki looked toward Steve and immediately retracted his hand from his neck.

"Your neck. You're still wounded. Are you going to be okay?"

Securing the security straps on his seat he sat upright and did his best to ignore the burning pain in his neck. "I shall carry my own weight is that is your concern." Loki was defensive toward the comment out of instinctive need to protect himself from those who may doubt his true strength.

"No, my concern is your injury." Steve reaffirmed. "Thanos... he's no pushover."

"That he is not."

"If you're not feeling up to it, we can-"

"I assure you Captain," Loki interrupted coldly. This demeanor wasn't meant to disrespect Steve, it was merely a reaction to the intense pain of his neck struggling to heal. "I will be fine. If I can survive Thanos I can survive an excursion through the mountains."

Steve nodded in response as he fastened his seat straps. "Okay." Lowering his voice as to not alert either Natasha or Thor he leaned in toward Loki. "I'll have your back if you need it."

Loki wasn't sure how to respond to the gesture so instead he chose to mirror Steven's previous motion and nodded respectfully.

The flight was surprisingly brief as the quinjet soared through the relatively vacant skies from upstate New York to the magnificent cliffs of Norway that overlooked the churning blue ocean far below.

Thor watched as the gorgeous natural landscape came into view. With it came a mixture of conflicting emotions as it had been the final place where he and Loki had spoken with their now deceased Father just moments before he passed away.

"It really is beautiful." Thor complimented as the quinjet slowed its speed and located a large open space to land without disturbing any surroundings more than absolutely necessary. "I'm glad Father was able to see this place during his lifetime."

Natasha gave Thor an odd look as he spoke. It wasn't often she witnessed men who were blessed with incredible physical strength exposing a softer side to them; their emotions and inner pain. Even Clint was more reserved about his emotional past traumas despite knowing and trusting Natasha for years.

"Prepare for landing." Natasha instructed as she ignored Thor's comment and mentally steeled herself for her first mission since being defeated by Thanos. "I don't anticipate any trouble but that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect something. Keep your com open."

"Agreed." Thor stated he gathered his thoughts and stilted his emotional nostalgia. "The entrance to the underground temple should be less than a mile from here. Excellent coordination Agent Romanoff."

Steve unfastened his straps and stood upright, taking a tall and proud stance like the solider he was. "Just to be on the safe side we should make this is quick as possible."

Loki unfastened his own straps but remained seated as Natasha and Steve walked past him and descended the lowered ramp connecting the quinjet to the ground outside. Thor stopped beside him and gave him a reassuring nod.

"I remind you, brother," Loki stated as he stood up slowly and winced slightly at the lingering pain in his neck. "the location of the stone has been lost for thousands of years. Any recording confirming the stone's existence have been lost even longer. This could all be for nothing."

"I am aware. Why do you speak with such a negative tone?"

"Because-" Catching the unnecessary hostility in his tone Loki paused and lowered his voice as to not warrant any unwanted attention from Natasha or Steve. "Because we've all suffered greatly at the hands of Thanos; some of us more than others. If we fail then we may have falsely raised their hopes only to dash them all away creating a deeper void of despair that will become increasingly difficult to escape."

Thor's eyes lowered guiltily as he took Loki's words to heart. "I understand that you are still in pain and conflict with the past indiscretions of our Father, but not every ray of hope will be snuffed out by darkness."

"I do hope you're right." Loki commented as he and Thor exited the quinet side by side. "For everyone's sake."

"As do I."

Natasha and Steve were standing beside the ramp looking at the expansive blue ocean raging off into seemingly eternity. The massive jagged cliffs cut into the edge of the land and plunged for miles into the ocean floor below.

"Where do we start?" Steve asked as he took a step forward.

"There." Loki replied as he exited the quinjet and stood beside Steve, pointing with one hand to a small cavern jutting out from the soil near the treeline behind the gathered heroes. "Concealed entrance to a long abandoned temple that was once used to worship Asgardian deities as gods."

Natasha crossed her arms and stared at the entrance with stern focus. "Good thing we know better now."

Loki just Natasha an indifferent glance before continuing. "The entrance will be narrow and the interior decaying. Take caution where you step."

"Lead the way." Thor insisted as he addressed his brother. "I shall follow."

Loki turned to look at Steve and Natasha waiting for any protest, but nothing came. "Very well."

Walking slowly to the partially buried cavern entrance Loki used his hand to pull aside a thick bundle of floral overgrowth that hung over the entryway. The mouth of the cavern was indeed narrow but would still allow a person to pass through, though it would be an uncomfortable trek through the small opening.

"Can you see inside?" Steve asked as he walked up behind Thor and Loki and peered down at the darkened cavern.

"I can see well enough." Loki replied as he set foot inside the mouth of the cave. The soft soil shifted beneath the weight of his boot but it didn't give away. "This will take only a moment."

Thor followed behind Loki while Steve stayed outside. "You two go inside. We'll stay-"

"YOU will stay out here." Natasha corrected him with a cutting interruption. "I'm going with them."

"Uh, sure. Go ahead."

Locating a thin, worn trail to follow Loki led the way through the cavern and to the front steps of a long buried temple of stone and ransacked gold.

"It is close." Loki stated as he eyed the temple warily. "The stone should be here."

"How do you know?" Natasha question as she took a small flashlight from her belt and shined it on the floor.

"Because the stone contains an energy similar to that of the Infinity Stones." Unable to move his neck Loki had to turn his entire body to face the fiery agent. "And as you know I have some experience in handling said stones. The energy is palpable to those who know how to feel it."

Thor paused momentarily to allow Natasha to step in front and walk in front of him. As a natural protector Thor insisted on taking up the rear to ensure none of his colleagues were ambushed from behind.

As Loki began to ascend the steps leading to the temple the physical strain was proving too much for the injured god to bear at the moment and he stopped short in the middle of the steps.

"Brother?" Thor asked as he and Natasha stopped beside him on the steps.

"I will only need a moment." Loki stated calmly as he breathed through the pain. "Let us continue."

"No," Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder and held it there as he walked forward. "wait here. I will locate the stone."

Natasha gave an icy glance to Loki as she followed along after Thor to an extent before stopping and turning to face Loki again. "Problem?"

"Pain." Loki confirmed bitterly.

Natasha crossed her arms and gave Loki an unconvinced glare.

"You do not believe me."

"Of course not. Lying is your expertise."

"I could say the same about you." Loki quipped cruelly.

"STOP." Thor warned as he continued his way to the top of the steps to reach the heart of the temple. "There will be no quarreling within the team."

Loki lowered his voice and turned away from Natasha as he muttered to himself. "...she started it..."

Thor found himself surrounded by eroded marble pillars and statues that immortalized Asgard's mightiest heroes. Aged and decaying painted murals depicting long forgotten histories of Asgard regarding the reign of the late Allfather Odin with his firstborn and only daughter, Hela, at his side. The images that had been painted depicted bloody battles and invasions that ended with Asgard's success and the fall of those who had crossed Odin's path.

"So it was true." Thor lamented quietly to himself as he crossed the center of the temple to reach a pedestal of marble. Sitting atop the pedestal was a single stone of pure energy. The stone itself was perfectly smooth and round like a pearl but black like a void. A strange dark light emanated from the stone yet it illuminated nothing that surrounded it. "The Stone of Absolution."

Loki returned his focus to the temple as a strange shift in the energy that engulfed the cavern caused a sinister chill to fill the air.

"Something's wrong..." Loki proclaimed as every instinct in his heart told him that danger was around the corner.

"What?" Natasha asked in a very snippy and impatient manner.

"I... I..." Loki was struggling to understand his senses through the incredible pain in his neck while keeping his mind on the matters at hand. "I cannot say..."

"Yeah. Sounds convincing."

Inside the temple Thor reached out slowly to the stone to take it in his hand. As his fist tightened around the stone the dark energy contained within seeped outward and into Thor's palm with a frightening speed and display of darkness.

The pain was indescribable as Thor was forced to his knees as the energy of the stone was too overwhelming for him to endure. Through gritted teeth he let out a groan of pain and his eyes snapped shut to tight that tears were forced to run freely down his face.

As quickly as the stone's energy entered Thor's body the connection ceased and Thor's eyes opened.

Loki was still trying to identify the sense of impending doom when he spotted Thor exiting the temple. But it was the same Thor who had entered.

Thor's body remained the same but a dark aura surrounded him in a veil of shadow. The blood that coursed through his veins had turned black and created an ink colored pattern of lines over his entire body. The blue iris of his natural eye had turned blood red while the brown iris of his artificial eye turned gold.

"Brother?" Loki called out cautiously only to have his own eyes widen with fear.

With her back turned to Thor Natasha was oblivious to the danger behind her and focused on the imaginary danger in front of her.

Thor raised his arm, his fist pointed at Natasha's spine, and from his fist reaching all the way up his arm to his shoulder a bolt of dark red lightning formed.

"NO!" Loki shouted as he used all of his dwindling strength to leap outward and tackle Natasha down to the ground and away from the lightning strike.

The bolt of lightning missed Natasha entirely but grazed the back of Loki's shoulder as it passed by and struck the far wall of the cavern.

Loki used his own body to shield Natasha as she laid partially on her side and partially on her stomach with her hands over her head and her legs curled up slightly beneath herself. Loki ignored the searing pain of the new burn on his shoulder as he eyed the ceiling of the destabilized cavern began to crack and collapse inward on itself.

"Thor?!" Loki called out to his brother but received no response.

Portions of the cavern began to crumble into small boulders and rocks that fell like a heavy rainfall onto the three occupants of the cave.

Thor marched out of the cavern at an unnaturally quick pace leaving Loki and Natasha behind.

"Okay, get off me!" Natasha demanded as she used one hand to reach back and push Loki aside. "We need to stop him."

Loki weakly rolled to his side and allowed Natasha to get up from the ground. She knelt beside him as she drew her pistol and aimed at Thor's spine.

"No!" Loki reached out a hand and grabbed the barrel of the gun to lower its aim from his brother. His hand was trembling violently with weakness as his arm had been affected by the burn on his shoulder. "Do not fire upon him!"

Natasha looked to Loki with confusion in her eyes. She eyed the god who had protected her from harm and who was now begging for her to not harm Thor in return. Smoke drifted up from Loki's shoulder and the cavern smelled of burnt flesh and singed fabric.

"What happened to him?" Natasha demanded as she reluctantly holstered her gun. "What did you do to him?

"What did I do to him?!" Loki practically spat. "I have not the strength to climb steps, yet you accuse me of enchanting my brother from a great distance? I'm honored."

"If you didn't do this then what did?"

"The stone." Loki replied curtly as he forced himself to stand, his neck burning as much as his shoulder. Clutching at his shoulder with his hand he stared at the entrance of the cavern and realized that Thor was already outside. "It has merged itself with his body, and if he reaches any population he will destroy anyone who dares to come near."

Natasha could see the sincerity in Loki's pain eyes and reacted quickly. "Steve!" Pressing her finger to the com in her ear she tried to make contact with Steve outside the cavern. "Thor's been compromised! Watch out-"

'I noticed!' Steve replied over the com with a strained grunt. 'Busy!'

"Shit..."

Loki shook his head as he looked to the entrance and felt the cavern shaking with the traded blows of lightning against Vibranium outside.

"Loki, how do we stop Thor?"

Turning to look at the agent he hid any fear and confusion that he was currently feeling being a facade of false calmness. "We must examine the stone." Loki nodded to the temple standing behind them at the top of the steps. "If we can separate the stone's power from Thor's body we can restore his mind to himself."

"Restore his mind?" Natasha didn't like Loki's answer. "He lost his mind?"

"He has gone berserk, to be entirely accurate." Loki began ascending the steps, ignoring the gnawing pain in his neck and now shoulder.

"Berserk. Great." Natasha rushed along the steps, beating Loki to the top and set foot inside the temple. "Steve," she resumed communication on the outside. "Loki and I are going to find a way to stop the stone from influencing Thor's mind. You have to keep him there!"

There was a pause before Steve finally replied with an exasperated breath. 'Yeah, no problem!' The sound of thunder crashing and metal clanging echoed after Steve's voice. 'But, please try to hurry!'

"Right." Natasha looked around at the decaying ruins of the temple and eyed the pedestal where the stone once sat. Unguarded.

Loki caught up to Natasha, his eye also being drawn to the pedestal at the center of the temple. "Odd."

"What?"

"This temple housed a single artifact that is stronger than the six Infinity Stones combined, yet it remained unguarded for millennia without any disturbance."

"The stone was able to guard itself." Natasha deduced keenly. "And when Thor touched it..."

"It defended itself. But," Loki stood before the pedestal and stared at the vacated space where the stone had previously been. "Thor is not a mortal Midgardian. He is a nearly immortal Asgardian. His body could not be destroyed or even harmed by contact with the stone. Instead of the stone's power flowing through him and killing him, it flowed into him and gave him additional power."

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"Indeed." Loki's brow arched as he spotted aged carvings in the wall behind the pedestal that had been partially obscured by floral growth. Pulling the heavy leaves and vines down from the stone wall Loki uncovered a mass of words left behind in a dead language by those who initially erected the temple thousands of years ago. "Interesting."

"A message?"

"A warning." Loki declared as he slowly translated the words in his head. The words and the design of the text reminded Loki of Thor's long deceased Grandfather, Bor. Perhaps it was destiny that Thor himself would venture into the temple one day. "I only need a moment."

Natasha returned her attention to Steve. "We found something, it'll only take a minute to-"

Steve's reply came in the form of a shout of pain as Thor managed to overpower him in that moment.

"Steve? Steve!" Natasha pulled her hand down from her ear. "Steve's down. We need to hurry!"

"I have the solution." Loki stated as he turned on his heel to retreat from the temple. "Time is critical."

"What do we need to do?" Natasha asked as she pulled her gun and followed as Loki rushed out of the temple with a newly found energy of his own.

"The stone needs to be extracted from his body before it consumes him. In order to do this we must exhaust Thor's body, only then can we expose the stone and remove it."

"And how do we do that?"

"How else? Combat." Loki stated as he drew two daggers from his long sleeves and held them in tight fists.

"No." Natasha refused to fight back against Thor. "This isn't how we deal him, this is all a ploy to-"

"To... what, Miss Romanoff?" Loki inquired as he and Natasha exited the crumbling cavern and set foot on the charred battleground where Thor and Steve had been fighting. "Kill my own brother? My only family? My closest friend?" Pointing his dagger at the smoldering grass with the dagger he shot her an enraged glare. "I can assure you that this is the last thing I wish to do."

Steve crashed against a large boulder back first, knocking the breath out of his body. As he lifted his head to look at Thor the berserk god himself rushed forward and pressed his strong arm against Steve's throat in an attempt to choke him. Steve tried to pull Thor's arm away from his throat but he was already losing too much air, his face turning a faint shade of pale blue and his eyes going red.

The Vibranium shield that Steve had been brandishing crashed onto the ground beside him, unscathed.

"Steve!" Natasha instinctively fired a shot at Thor.

"No!" Loki repeated as the bullet struck Thor in the offending arm. "You'll only make it worse!"

The bullet had little to no effect on Thor's strength. Turning to face Natasha, his mismatched eyes staring through her with an emotionless gaze sent a chill up her spine.

Thor released his arm from Steve's throat, the soldier's eyes rolling back in his head as he crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap, and turned toward Natasha.

Frightened by Thor's appearance Natasha's gun lowered as the strength in her arms began to fail her. Taking one step back Loki took one step forward and put himself between Thor and Natasha.

"Thor." Loki called out to the possessed god, but Thor just stared right through him. "Brother." Loki raised a hand as if he could somehow shield Natasha from Thor as he kept his ground. "Go to Rogers." Loki whispered as he took another step toward Thor. "I'll distract him. As soon as he's weak enough you'll see your opportunity to remove the stone from his body."

"You can't-"

"Go!" Loki shouted as Thor raised his hand to unleash another bolt of lightning.

Natasha raced away from the two dueling gods and slid on her knees to Steve's side. Unconscious and slightly bruised Steve was laying on his side on the ground, unaware of the danger still surrounding him.

"Steve!" Natasha grabbed his shoulder to try and rouse him. "Wake up! Come on, you were already out for seventy years, let's go! Get up!"

Loki ducked down and avoided a blast of red lightning from Thor's fist and threw his first dagger into Thor's upper leg to try and hinder his movement. The dagger found its target but Thor was seemingly unaffected by the strike and continued to walk toward Loki.

"I'm sorry, brother." Loki stood upright and lifted his left arm. A sheath of ice formed around his forearm and spread outward in all directions by several inches to create a shield of unnaturally formed and very thick ice. "I do not want to harm you."

Thor rushed at Loki with a fist formed and surging with red electricity, and punched the center of the shield, cracking it instantly! Loki dug in his heels and pushed back against the strike, causing a massive wave of energy to burst outward in a palpable explosion that sent the two brothers flying apart in opposite directions.

Shards of electrically charged ice showered down over the charred grass as the two gods attempted to get back to their feet.

Natasha had pulled Steve up from the ground into a sitting position and was patting the side of his face trying to wake up the super soldier. "Come on Steve, we need you!"

Loki had landed on his back on the grass. Using his arms he propped himself up into a sitting position and watched as Thor, who hand landed on the grass in a similar manner all but leapt back up to his feet.

"Loki!" Natasha shouted at the downed god from a safe distance. "Don't hold back! We understand!"

With a shaking hand Loki clutched at his remaining dagger like a life line and got back to his feet. Standing tall but unsure of his next move he stared at the enraged form of his brother with a hollow sense of loyalty.

"This is not Thor." Loki told himself as his grip tightened on the dagger even further. "This is something that has taken Thor's body." He told himself as he prepared to strike. "Forgive me."

Thor raised his hand again and unleashed yet another bolt of red lightning. Agile as always Loki managed to dodge the strike and regain his balance just in time to dodge another blast, then another, and another...

"He can't win." Natasha whispered as she watched Loki struggling to hold his own against Thor.

A hand reached up and rested on Natasha's shoulder. "He doesn't need to." Steve had regained consciousness but not fully. "He just needs to let Thor wear himself out."

"What?" Natasha gave Steve unconvinced glance. "How do you know?"

"When I was fighting with Thor I could see him using a lot of strength just to unleash those lightning bolts. And every time he used a tremendous amount of energy I could see more of the Thor we all know and trust." Steve got to his feet slowly and watched the duel in the distance as his head cleared. "Whatever is making him act like this has a limit. We just need to find it and push it!" Picking up his shield he prepared himself for round two against the raging god.

"Distraction." Natasha decided. "I'll help Loki and as soon as Thor is weak enough you make your move."

"You're sure? You're much better at finishing fights than I am."

"I only want to stun Thor," Natasha explained as she checked the clip in her gun. "not kill him."

"Good point."

Loki was already exhausted, not only from his injuries but from enduring the powerful and dangerous strikes that came Thor's enhanced abilities.

"Brother..." Loki called out again as he raised a hand to try and dissuade Thor's next attack. "Please! Come to your senses! You know who we are! We are your allies! You family!"

Thor was deaf to Loki's pleas. Reaching out he grabbed Loki by the front of his shirt and held him high into the air with one hand as he reeled his other hand back into a tight fist.

Loki grabbed onto Thor's wrist with both hands and tried to wrest his grip free. "Brother! No!"

Another shot from behind Thor echoed loudly as a second bullet struck Thor in his shoulder blade. The result of the shot cause Thor to lose his grip and drop Loki down to the grass. Turning to look behind himself Thor eyed Natasha once again.

"Uh... A little help." Natasha asked while keeping her gun trained on Thor.

Loki got back to his feet and rushed after Thor with his dagger drawn. Plunging the blade into Thor's shoulder, directly into the bullet wound inflicted by Natasha just seconds prior Thor out a loud yell of pain and froze in his tracks. Reaching back he swung his arm and fist around and collided with Loki's jaw, sending the god flying to the ground again.

With a heavy 'thud' Loki landed on the grass just a few feet from Natasha and laid on his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Natasha stepped back a few feet and lowered her gun, replacing it to its holster on her hip. "Thor. We aren't trying to hurt you, we're trying to help you! You have to fight the power that's trying to consume you. Please! We can't lose you, too!" Her heels of her boots reached the edge of the cliff, leaving her with no more room to back away. "Thor... I know you're in there! Fight it! You're stronger than some rock!"

Steve had taken the opportunity to slip through the treeline and position himself on top of a boulder that loomed over the battlefield. Kneeling down he prepared to jump on Thor's back as soon as the god was in range.

"Just, try to think." Natasha encouraged as she watched Steve on the corner of her eye. "You know we're your friends. Fight back!"

Thor suddenly stopped short as a surge of red electricity washed over his body. The electricity collected in his right hand as he prepared to lift his arm and aim the collected lightning at Natasha knowing she had nowhere to run.

Natasha's eyes went wide with fear as Thor raised his hand and took aim at her without hesitation.

Loki pushed himself up from the grass and bolted forward as fast as he could to put himself between Thor and Natasha, absorbing the devastating lightning blast himself.

Red lightning struck Loki directly in his chest and sent the god back down to the ground heavily and without mercy. Surging red electricity swarmed over his body as he rolled twice before stopping on his side just inches from Natasha.

"Loki!" Natasha fell to her knees and put her hand on his arm.

Loki's entire body was trembling and he was struggling to catch his breath as he heart began racing dangerously fast in response to the lightning strike. He had tried to curl up into a ball on the grass but he didn't have the strength and his entire body fell limp under Natasha's palm.

Using a gentle but forceful motion Natasha rolled Loki from his side and onto his back. His limp arm was draped over his chest and legs twisted slightly as he laid in a pain state of semi-consciousness beside the worried agent. "Loki..."

Thor took a step forward ready to attack the two helpless targets before him when Steve leapt down from the boulder and tackled Thor to the ground. While the two powerhouses wrestled on the ground, Steve trying to drain away more of Thor's strength just enough to remove the stone from his body, Natasha tended to the downed god who may have sacrificed himself to protect her; maybe even save her own life.

"Loki." Resting on her knees Natasha pulled Loki's head and shoulders onto her lap before she pulled open the smoldering black fabric of his shirt to expose the electrical burn in the center of his chest. "Just hold on, we'll get you out of here."

Loki groaned in pain as his only response.

Steve used his shield to push Thor down against the ground, the shield pressing dangerously hard against Thor's throat. With his other hand Steve grabbed onto the hilt of Loki's dagger, the very dagger that was still embedded in Thor's thigh, and pressed down to try and cause enough pain to drain away Thor's abundance of energy and strength.

Thor's hand reached up toward Steve's throat but Steve pressed down harder on both the shield and the dagger to stave off Thor's efforts.

A loud yell of pain escaped Thor's lips as the pain became too intense. A black sphere of energy appeared in the palm of Thor's right hand and Steve saw it quickly. Pulling the dagger from Thor's leg he swiftly stabbed the sharp blade into Thor's palm and forced the stone to emerge from the appendage falling to the grass beside the two warring heroes.

As the stone lost its connection with Thor as a host the energy it emitted was no longer being channeled, resulting in a final burst of intense power that knocked everyone to the ground under a wave of a black energy surge.

Natasha had ducked down over Loki to try and protect him in the same manner that he had protected her as a shockwave of energy burst through the air, but it was a fruitless effort as she was sent flying backward just as Thor and Steve were sent flying away.

Pushing herself up slowly Natasha watched as smoke swirled around the battleground and obscured immediate sight. A figure approached through the smoke and stood over Loki who was laying defenseless just out of her reach.

"Thor?" She called out cautiously as the figure suddenly stopped and dropped to their knees beside Loki.

"Brother..." Thor hoarsely whispered as put his arm under Loki's shoulders and lifted his brother up from the ground. Embracing Loki in a tight hug Thor apologized profusely for attacking his own brother. The blood on Thor's palm smeared onto Loki's back painfully as Thor held onto him as if afraid to let go. "I am so sorry! I could see myself but I could not stop!"

Natasha knelt beside Thor and put her hand on his arm. "It's okay Thor, we know you weren't yourself."

Weakly Loki's hand reached up

"Please..." Thor nodded toward the Stone of Absolution smoldering on the grass where he and Steve had finished their battle. "Dispose of the stone."

"We'll handle it." Natasha promised as she slowly stood up and took her hand from Thor's arm.

Steve stood over the stone with one hand holding his ribs and the other clutching his Vibranium shield. As Natasha joined him he tilted his shield down at an angle and used it to scoop up the stone from the grass without anyone risking any contact with it.

"Stone of Absolution." Steve eyed it warily. "Should we destroy it or take it with us?"

"It's so strong, so unpredictable." Natasha observed. "It nearly killed two gods... I can only imagine what it'd do to a tyrant with a god-complex."

"If we could find a way to harness its power it could give us the edge we need over Thanos. But," he looked past Natasha to Thor who was still holding onto Loki in a tight hug. "half of the universe has already been lost. Do we really want to risk losing anything more?"

Natasha nodded slightly. "I agree. Let's put the stone back in the temple where it belongs."

"And if we need it," Steve concluded as he took a step backward and toward the cavern. "we know where to find it."

While Steve and Natasha escorted the stone back down in the cavern to replace it to its pedestal in the heart of the temple, Thor picked up Loki and carried him over to the quinjet in the distance. Loki's head lolled weakly against Thor's shoulder as he fought to catch his breath.

"Loki... Please forgive me." Thor begged as he carried Loki up the ramp and into the quinjet.

"...For what?" Loki asked in a pathetically low voice as Thor pressed a button near the seats in the center of the craft and a gurney extended outward from the interior hull of the quinjet. "Trying to find a way to stop Thanos?"

"I attacked you." Thor stated as if confused by why Loki wasn't angry with him. Laying Loki down on the gurney he sat on the edge of the gurney near Loki's feet. "That is... barbaric."

"It was also against your will." Loki replied with a faint smiled that quickly disappeared as he let out a wheezing gasp and coughed harshly. He caught his breath and continued on. "...I know a thing or two about losing control."

Steve and Natasha stood in the heart of the temple with the Stone of Absolution cradled in the center of Steve's shield. Carefully he placed the edge of the shield to the surface of the pedestal and allowed the stone to slide down and return to its previous resting position in the center of the pedestal.

"Thanos collected all six Infinity Stones." Steve noted as he stepped back from the pedestal. "And there's a seventh stone that can counteract the power of those six. Do you think Thanos knows about this?"

"I don't think I want to know the answer to that." Natasha replied coldly. "The last thing we need to be doing is worried about hypothetical scenarios of destruction about a sick man we already know is the most dangerous man in the universe."

"You're right." Steve agreed as he looked at the mural uncovered by Loki earlier. The images depicted seemed to show mortal men falling prey to madness and violence before suffering horrible deaths. The final image showed a powerful deity, perhaps an ancestor to Odin, taking the stone into the temple on behalf of the mortals and the mortals swearing to protect the stone from thieves and tyrants. "And I think it's safe to say that whoever built this place knew how dangerous it was. Maybe that's why no one knows of its existence."

"Come on. We better get back to the compound." Natasha hustled out of the temple and down the steps back toward the entrance of the cavern. "You three need some medical attention."

Thor stood in front of the large rectangular window that overlooked the expansive green property of the compound lost in thought and regret. The palm of his right hand was wrapped heavily in white bandages to cover the stab wound inflicted by Steve as the only means over removing the stone from his body. Another wrapping of gauze encircled his thigh to cover the second the stab wound as a result of his battle with Loki.

Steve walked up to Thor from behind and joined him at the window. "You okay?"

"I cannot answer that question right now."

"Well, then, that's a 'no' even if you don't want to admit it." Steve stated dryly. "I've been 'not okay' for days myself."

"Are you injured?"

"I've suffered worse." Steve replied honestly as he pressed his hand to a large bruise on the side of his face. "How about you?"

"My hand will heal, as will my leg."

"Loki isn't mad at you." Steve reassured Thor with a firm tone of voice. "He knows what happened."

"But I still attacked him. Nearly killed him."

"Bruce patched him up and says he'll make a full recovery. He's going to be sore, but-"

"I am not worried about the lightning strike to his chest." Thor closed his eyes and bowed his head in shame. "It is his neck. I threw him about with such disregard and violence... What if I negated the damage that had healed and caused a far more severe injury as a result? I could've paralyzed him."

"But you didn't." Steve replied with an almost brotherly tone of his own. "When I lost Bucky in the mountains all those decades ago... I blamed myself. When I discovered that he was still alive but had been tortured and brainwashed... His arm had been lost during that mission in the mountains and replaced with an artificial limb that become a weapon. I thought I'd never get over the guilt but Bucky forgave me." Turning to walk away he gave Thor one last piece of advice to consider. "And eventually I learned to forgive myself. You will, too."

Down in Bruce's lab the aftermath of the defunct mission was being tended to. Loki was sitting on the edge of the exam table with his chest and shoulder all wrapped up in gauze bandages that concealed his recently disinfected burns and prevented infections. Bruce was sitting in a rolling chair at the beside the table with a stethoscope in his ears and the bell pressed against Loki's chest.

On the other side of the lab Tony was watching the interaction with a silent curiosity. Though he hadn't said anything about recruiting Loki to the team he still had his doubts, but they were seemingly pushed away after Natasha explained what happened during the mission and how Loki had stepped up during the crisis.

"Chest sounds clear." Bruce confirmed as he set aside the stethoscope. "But if you start having trouble breathing or develop a cough get your butt back in here, alright?"

The odd Earthly turn of phrase gave Loki a moment of pause before he nodded.

"And your neck seems okay, but don't be afraid to ask for something if the pain starts getting to you or if you feel any numbness anywhere in your body."

"Thank you."

"And Tony," Bruce pointed at the eccentric engineer at the end of the lab. "you need to let me check your sutures."

"Again?"

"Yes, Tony, again." Bruce confirmed as he rose from his seat to 'escort' Tony to the next table to be taken care of. "Now, please, don't fight it."

Loki hopped down from the table slowly and walked out of the lab with the intent of returning to his quarters to rest. On his way out the door he nearly bumped into Natasha who was waiting for him in the corridor.

"I take it Bruce gave you the 'okay'."

"Yes." Loki confirmed. "I am fine."

"No, you're not." Natasha argued though her tone had softened considerably. "But you will be."

"Is Thor still blaming himself?" Loki asked to try and divert attention from himself.

"Yeah. Steve is trying to talk to him but I don't think it'll do much good. His shoulder will heal. My shots were clean and your dagger was sharp enough to create a deep cut without tearing the muscles. No sign of head trauma, either."

"Thor has always been as thickheaded as he is strong."

Natasha smirked at the comment. "And you're as stubborn as you are guarded."

"I suppose you're right." Loki stated as he tried to walk past her and retreat into privacy. "Pardon me."

"Wait." Natasha put her hand on his arm to stop him from walking away. "I need to say something."

Loki stopped and turned to look at the agent with a furrowed brow. She was the last person he expected to open up to him.

"Since my 'training' I had always been able to disassociate people from enemies and remain unbiased, but all of that changed when you showed up." She stood before him with her arms crossed loosely. "And ever since that day whenever I would imagine an enemy I would see your face."

"I see..."

"You hurt so many people, you killed so many people including a friend of mine, but... after today I got an up close and personal look at how easily one's mind can be corrupted and how horrific it can be."

Loki wasn't sure what it was that Natasha was dancing around but he didn't press the matter.

"And so I just wanted to say that... while I don't think I can ever stop hating your crimes and all of the pain you've caused, I think I can finally stop hating you."

The admission was surprisingly heartfelt and had a powerful effect on Loki as a result.

"And... more importantly..." She hesitated slightly but found the heart to continue. "I'm ready to forgive you." Natasha finally stated with a heavy sigh. She wrapped her arms around Loki and hugged him tightly, careful not to hurt him in the process. "Don't tell anyone about this."

Loki hadn't expected such a moment from any of the Avengers, let alone a master assassin. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated the hug.

Tears of relief formed in his eyes but he proudly refused to let them fall. "...thank you."

-The End