Hi, lovely people!

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't updated in over a year. My fixations have moved on to other things and I don't write for the Avengers anymore, but I'm still proud of the style and prose of this story and I want to give you all a proper conclusion. I've included a summary of what would have been the next 10-15 chapters, as well as a few of the scenes I had drafted out. I hope this will suffice and draw this to a decent close!

Chapter Seven

Loki tapped aggravatedly on the sides of his bottle, not making any move to drink it, as Carol handled the polite conversation—where are you all from, how are you liking Xandar? Just gouge his eyes out with a dull spoon already, for Norns' sake. After he had to bat Rocket away from his gold-plated vambrace for what must have been the thirteenth time, Carol shifted topics to the elephant in the room.

"So," she says, swirling her drink slowly, "how do you know Loki, Gamora?"

Great. Loki threw back his akevitt and pushed his now empty bottle to the edge of the table for a refill. He would need to get drunk for this.

Gamora seemed equally reluctant to reply. "We would need to be somewhere more private," she excused, but Loki gestured with one hand to the surrounding pub.

"No need. They all hear us discussing paleomagnetism in Klingonese."

"And you're sure no one will understand that?" Gamora asked seriously.

Loki grinned, wry and sharp, exchanging a knowing look with Carol and Quill, whose face had suddenly lit up. "Oh, quite certain."

With that matter settled, Gamora scrapped her thumbnail along the grain of the wood and began to speak, leaning close to Quill. "I was raised as Thanos' daughter," she explained, eyes fixated on the amber liquid in her glass. "He took me from my planet when I was young, after he murdered half of my people. For years, he trained me to be an assassin and do his dirty work. Sometimes, he would leave and come back with a new child—a sibling, he would tell me, and all of them were twisted to fill a role like I was. There was only one time someone found us instead."

Her gaze lifted to meet Loki's, who, despite his shaking, had not reacted to her words. She continued, softer than before.

"Thanos knew he had to have a son of Odin"—Loki's fingers hooked into his palms—"a master of magic. I…I can't tell you anything else. It isn't my place."

Carol tipped her head towards Loki and pressed her shoulder to his in reassurance. He was grateful for the warmth, for the grounding touch. He snatched her shot glass from her hand, ignoring her yelp of protest, and drowned Ebony Maw's smile with a gulp of whiskey. Quill and Rocket stayed tactfully silent, but Drax did not seem to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"So, what next?"

"Dude, really?" Quill sputtered.

"Even for me, that subtext was obvious," Rocket added, ears flat.

That was Loki's cue to leave. He was not going to blubber out his woes to a known associate of his torturer and a group of dunderheads. Wordlessly, he swung his legs into the aisle and picked his way through the swaying crowd towards the bar, where he settled and tapped the counter in front of him.

"Give me something that could knock the Abilisk into a coma," Loki demanded.

The bartender, a purple-eyed Xandarian with a resting scowl curling his lips, poured up a tall glass of something that shone like rainwater and stunk like rubbing alcohol. Without further questioning, Loki took a hearty gulp—it tasted of nothing and seared across his tongue, and he found that he liked the sting. The chatter at his back murmured into white noise as he lost himself in the burning drink and the spirals of the neon-lit décor, trying to wipe the Other's hissing from his mind.

If Thor were here (if Thor was still alive), he would have chased Loki down, set on cheering him up. He sees a lot of Thor in Carol—the warmth, the loyalty, the heroism. Which is why Loki is not surprised when Carol slides onto the empty barstool next to him.

Chapter Seven would have explored the Guardians entering an alliance with Loki and Carol.

Now, the following events were where the story became murky, but this is the major part-Earth is falling to Ultron. Without Thor's lightning, Vision is never made. Carol is summoned by Fury's distress call, and despite Loki's protests, the two of them head to Earth with the Guardians in tow. This is enough to turn the tides of the battle, but none of the Avengers completely trust Loki or his allies. He tells them about Thor and reluctantly about the Infinity Stones, agreeing to give up the Tesseract for safe-keeping. The space crew is preparing to leave, but with the Sokovia Accords comes the cry for justice against Loki.

As the Avengers split to fight, Loki is taken and detained-Carol breaks him out and they flee back into the Galaxy. Things get a bit murky here, but it's important to note that the timeline is accelerated and events are happening much closer together. As Carol is doing vigilante work, they receive a distress signal from a planet called Sakaar. Upon arrival, they find that Hela has joined the Grandmaster in a reign of terror, and they also discover Thor alive. Bruce is there, too, as in canon. Carol and Loki deal with the Sakaar drama, leaving with Thor, Bruce, and Valkyrie in tow, and return to Asgard for a reunion. Heimdall gives word that Thanos has made a move on Xandar and is coming for Asgard to find Loki and the Reality Stone next.

The group hurries to Midgard to warn the people of Earth and to get more help in protecting the Stones, which is a mistake. Now all of Thanos' targets are in one spot. Infinity War happens about the same, but the difference really comes with who is Snapped.

Who Survives the Snap?

1. Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) - Lives

2. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) - Lives

3. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) - Lives

4. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) - Lives

5. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) - Dies

6. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) - Dies

7. Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - Lives

8. Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) - Dies

9. Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) - Lives

10. Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) - Lives

11. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) - Lives

12. Vision (Paul Bettany) - Dies

13. Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) - Dies

14. Wong (Benedict Wong) - Dies

15. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) - Been dead (Soul Stone)

16. Nebula (Karen Gillan) - Lives

17. Groot (Vin Diesel) - Dies

18. Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) - Dies

19. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) - Dies

20. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) - Lives

21. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) - Lives

22. Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) - Lives

23. T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) - Dies

24. Okoye (Danai Gurira) - Dies

25. Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) - Dies

26. Hope van Dyke/Wasp (Evangeline Lily) - Lives

27. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) - Dies

28. Shuri (Letitia Wright) - Lives

29. M'Baku (Winston Duke) - Dies

30. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) - Lives

31. Queen Frigga (Rene Russo) - Dies

From here, we proceed mostly as usual: Thanos has destroyed the Stones. The team dawdles for awhile-Loki has returned to Asgard to pick up the pieces as the King and Carol leaves to help restore order throughout the galaxy. However, the time travel revelation occurs much quicker, without Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm. Hope tracks down the Avengers to propose the idea, and they gather their team with Bruce and Shuri running point on the technology. Loki is reluctant to leave his people, but...he wants his family back so badly.

The teams would have divided to get the Stones, with Loki, Carol, Clint, and Natasha going for the Soul Stone. Carol sacrifices herself for the Stone.

The Vormir Scene:

The mountaintop of Vormir was shadowed with storm clouds and bathed in the faint red light of the dying sun, darkening horizon hidden by the snowflakes whipping through the harsh, chilled landscape. Loki's skin crawled as memories of Jotunheim—the pale skin of his hand bleeding to blue, looking up with wide eyes to see his brother mercilessly slaughtering the monsters that Loki is suddenly one of, grinning and joking all the way, and he had to wonder if Thor would murder him too if he knew what Loki was—rose to the surface of his mind, but he shoved his unease, his fear aside. He was here for a reason, for a mission, and he would complete it. Carol must have seen his steps falter and noticed his fingers picking anxiously at his left hand because she took his wrist and gave him a tight smile. He returned it to the best of his ability.

Clint and Natasha walked ahead to survey the cliff face and the brutal drop into the valley below. Loki peered down, wincing. A fall from this height was not survivable for any species, mortal or otherwise…although, he was beginning to have a sickening suspicion that death was the ultimate purpose of this place. A whisper, a rustle of a cloak sent the group whirling on their heels.

Two blades slipped into Loki's grip and he took up a defensive posture, right knife leading and the other coming to guard his throat against a lunge. As Natasha clicked the safety of her pistol off and Clint drew his sword to hold in high over his shoulder, Carol's fists flared to life with sparking fire, illuminating the horrific face of the intruder. His red skin was stretched taut over skeletal bones, dull eyes sunken deep into his skull and his nose a mere crater. A black cloak hid the rest of his form from view.

There was something off about this man. The sight of him put a lump in Loki's throat, his stomach growing cold and still with the feeling of anticipation and apprehension—the feeling that something was about to happen, a storm was about to break.

"Welcome," the guardian rattle, his voice rough and echoing, "Natasha, daughter of Ivan. Clint, son of Edith." His lifeless gaze flickered over to meet Loki's. "Loki, son of Odin, blood of Laufey. Carol, daughter of Joseph."

Loki's grip on his daggers did not loosen—if anything, his hold strengthened, the man's startlingly correct information making Loki more nervous, not that he would ever admit it—but he saw, from the corner of his eye, Natasha wince, her brows drawing closer together and lips parting. Surprise, confusion. Clint's sword stayed where it was, pointed directly at the space between the man's eyes.

"How do you know us?" Clint asked steadily.

"I am cursed to know all who come to this place. You have come for the stone. Be warned: it demands a terrible price."

Loki spared Carol a glance. There was a sudden wariness to her, a sudden vanishing of all her fight. She returned his look, almost worriedly. Throat convulsing as he swallowed, Loki spoke up.

"We are ready," he answered. "Name the consequence."

"You should know, former child of Thanos," the guardian said. He had no reaction to Loki's abrupt flinch, a spasm that shook his entire frame like an electric shock. "What you seek lies in front of you."

Natasha holstered her gun and paced to the edge of the cliff. "The Stone's down there," she realized.

Carol joined her, toes dangling over the drop, and turned back to Loki and Clint. "It sounds easy enough," she said. "I'll fly down and get it."

"No."

Loki surprised even himself by speaking, though his voice wavered and cracked. He tried again. "No. I…I understand now. A soul for a soul. To get the Stone, one of us has to die."

Horror stifled the air as a mournful quiet set over the group. Clint stared at Loki, shuddering breath billowing from his wide-open mouth like smoke, expression drawn in anger, in hurt, in disbelief. Natasha sat heavily on a nearby rock and pressed her elbows into her knees, saying nothing. Carol whispered Loki's name shakily, her hands slipping into his.

Loki could see the snow gathering on her dark eyelashes, freckling her golden curls and settling on her shoulders. He looked away, feeling choked and constricted and hating the helplessness that held him down like shackles.

"You're sure?" Carol whispered. "There's nothing we can do to get around it?"

"I don't think so." His grin pulled his face in all the wrong ways, wry and cruel in his pain. "I'm fresh out of tricks for this one. If you've any ideas, by all means, go ahead."

Briefly, Loki wondered if they could use the Stone and return it, reclaiming what they lost, but he doubted it: the Stone demanded a soul for its use, and even after they have returned it, they will still have used it. He sighed. From behind where Loki and Carol stood, Natasha and Clint were audibly bickering, debating as to who should jump. Loki felt dizzy with relief—if Clint or Natasha were to jump, then Carol and Loki would both leave with their lives. His hands tightened on hers.

"It won't be either of us," Loki said softly. "I—" I won't let you die, he wanted to say, but the words died on his tongue and he could not find the will to speak again.

Carol smiled, and this time, it was genuine. "You can be a stuck-up, self-centered, manipulative jerk. But you're my friend, Elvis."

"Thanks," Loki replied, managing to force his usual dry sarcasm, getting a quiet laugh out of Carol. "You…you're…I don't want to lose you."

That was the closest to a, "you're my friend, too, I love you, please don't go" that she was ever going to get from him. She ruffled his greased hair and let him slip his hands from hers to approach Clint and Natasha, where they were saying their goodbyes by the snow-tipped rocks.

Clint pulled away from where he had been leaning his forehead against Natasha's, looking determined once more. "It's got to be one of us," he exhaled to her. "Thor's already dead and Carol doesn't have anyone here."

Loki almost pitied him, but relief stifled every other emotion and filled his veins—he would not lose anyone else. The wind seemed to flow with more ferocity, snowflakes now falling at blinding speed, washing the landscape in bleak flashes of white. He caught his lip between his teeth, still able to feel the guardian watching them with baleful eyes. Give us all a moment, Loki urged silently. Goodbyes always felt too brief, too sudden, too fast—no matter how long they truly lasted, he thought, closing his eyes against the memory of Thor slowly fading in his arms, each moment lasting for eternity and only an instant all at once.

Suddenly missing Carol by his side as an anchor, a wordless reassurance, Loki turned to seek her out but found himself alone. He looked further down the mountain but could not see her familiar silhouette. His blood ran cold and he felt light-headed.

"Carol?" Loki called out, whirling to face the cliff.

Carol stood on the edge, staring into the valley, but looked back to smile at the sound of Loki's voice. "You said to go ahead," she replied, the tears in her eyes not projecting into her voice.

"No!" Loki cried out. "Wait—"

She stepped off the edge.

Loki cleared the walk between the rocks and the fall within moments and wasted no time leaping after her. Natasha yelped his name—Loki only had eyes for Carol, who was still plummeting through the darkness and the ice and he called for her again, high and frantic—not her, not her too. He stretched out his hand, fingers catching on mist and he screamed—there has to be another way—

Whatever it takes, Carol had said.

The world went black before Loki could hit the ground.

The rest of what happens in unchanged: they return to the present, Bruce snaps using the Gauntlet, and Thanos follows them to attack the Compound. Everyone emerges from the portals in the same fashion as before.

The Portals Scene:

As barks of, "Yibambe!" swept up the Wakandan soldiers with the force and ferocity of a tidal wave, Loki beat Gungnir against the ground and raised it high above his head as the aftershock ripped through the AEsir ranks. "Odin eier dere alle!" he shouted.

Crying out as one in voices like the bellowing thunder of a summer storm, the AEsir echoed, "Odin eier dere alle!"

Loki slammed his spear against the dirt once more and hefted it to the sky. "Odin eier dere alle!" he roared.

"Odin eier dere alle!" The army lifted their weapons, but not even the ring of metal being unsheathed and feet stamping in time with the words could overpower the strength of their cries.

A stillness settled over the group, a pause in which Loki curled the fingers of his free hand into a claw and swept back his hair, helmet shimmering into place at his touch and cape solidifying to swirl behind him as his hand dropped back to his side. He took a deep breath and, slowly, threateningly, lowered Gungnir to level it at Thanos' swelling ranks, the sharp edge of the spear pointed straight between the Mad Titan's eyes.

"Til Valhall!"

With that, Loki—son of Odin and Frigga, brother of Thor, god of mischief and fire, the King of Asgard—charged, Valkyrie soaring out in front of him atop her Pegasus and the AEsir following in Loki's footsteps, their shouts coming to crescendo into one monumental roar. And when the two armies met, the Earth split and the sky shook, and all the world knew that Ragnarök was upon them.

Thor doesn't arrive with the rest of the resurrected characters, which worries Loki, but Thor appears in a flash of lightning to blast Thanos' mothership out of the sky.

Thor's Return

"Someone needs to take those ships down!" Loki heard Rogers shout over the pandemonium.

Loki might have sent a blast of magic in the direction of the ominous warcrafts that shot fire like rain from above, but one volley destroyed the dam holding back the churning, gray sea and a rush of water arched over the sky, eclipsing the already dim sun. Reaching for his seidr, Loki tugged and summoned the Casket of Ancient Winters into his hands. The pale skin of his fingers bled into bright sapphire, markings proclaiming his true name to be Laufeyson carving dark blue along his flesh, but he paid the change in hue no mind—an eruption of frost and ice surged from the Casket, veining its way along the shaking ground and racing up the water. Within seconds, the entire wave had crystallized into a translucent wall of ice and Loki banished the artifact away into his stores, able to feel his Jotun horns recede into his scalp and blinking his eyes back to green as Doctor Strange threw him an incredulous look.

"I had that," he protested sharply.

Loki grinned, a slash of white across his dark, still half-cerulean face. "I'm certain would have thrown beautiful balloon animals at it until it succumbed to your might."

Another blast shot down toward the pair and Loki's hastily formed, reflexive shield was reduced to flickering green shards upon impact. Loki winced as he felt his magic writhe in his chest. "Could someone get on that previous request?" he called over the damaged intercom system, hand pressed to his ear. "I would, but I'm nearly spent hiding the Gauntlet."

Suddenly, the dark funnel clouds parted, and lightning speared down to pierce the Earth, thunder rattling the air and the stifling scent of ozone overwhelming Loki's senses. One ship went down to a comet made of electricity that ripped straight through its hull—the next fell soon after, struck from the sky by a bolt of crackling lightning—by the decimation of the third ship, everyone, Avenger and Chitauri alike, stopped dead to look up. Loki pressed one hand to his mouth. Could it—was that—?

Mjolnir shot from Captain Rogers' hand upward, rising into the heart of the destruction, where it was caught in a surge of electricity and power by—

"Thor!" Loki called. He spun to face Strange, excitement coloring the first genuine smile to grace his features in years.

"You guys are so screwed now!" Banner shouted in a crackle of static over the coms.

The battle proceeds, but this time with Steve snapping away Thanos and his army rather than Tony.

We would conclude with Thor, Loki, and Frigga preparing to return to Asgard after Steve's funeral. However, looking at the New Avengers and thinking of his friend Carol, Loki tells his mother and Thor that he'll come back to visit, but for now, he wants to help here. He's free for the first time in years-of Odin, of Thanos, of fear and anxiety. The sun is shining on his face as he watches his family leaves and turns to join his new one.

So, that's what I had originally wanted to write! If you came back to see this through, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. This story was born from a love for these movies and a desire to tell my own stories with them, and you all gave me a platform for that.

Lots of love to you all! This is goodbye-I'll miss you!