ENDGAME SPOILERS!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did, Tony would be yelling at me.

Summary: The scales are unbalanced, they have been for a very long time. And someone is getting pissed off that this keeps happening. So she decides to set things right. Very unconventionally...the Universe is not ready for this...no one is. Undying is a worse fate than torture, making you long for the sweet pain of death.

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Chapter One

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Somewhere, Some Planet

Some Year, Long Past

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It shouldn't surprise her, not really, the kingdom was dying.

The whole planet was, cursed to its eternal wasteland state that had befallen the lands before she was born.

Well…three weeks before to be exact…

War had ravaged the out-holdings before the horrible happened and the might of the Gods rained down on the realm. By the time she was old enough to understand why her stories had become such hardened memories, it was too late. Her home, her planet was dying, not enough wood, not enough food, not enough life…and too many souls crying to the stars.

They needed a miracle, a victory…a merciful savior.

She didn't agree with her mother's choice in that word.

Merciful

There was no mercy in deaths, not in her eyes.

But there she was, being strung up in semi-royal status claiming clothing, the colors of the ruling clan adorned her leather gear, covering warm silk-soft under clothes that provided insultation and cushion. She had no idea at the time of the exchange, just how much she'd come to welcome the extra protection. And how much she would come to regret not accepting heavier robes.

Her hair…having been allowed to grow to nearly her knees, was coiled up so the braids hung past her shoulder blades. The weight of the dark tresses was almost mirroring that of a crown, like the one her mother wore as the Regent Queen directed the formal proceedings she was throwing her own daughter into. A daughter who had barely reached puberty, and yet was taking on the weight of the planet. The crown, designated for the ruling clan leader, would never grace her head, not now.

Not when her life was being handed over to the merciful savior, the one who had promised peace and protection to the entirety of their realm, if the princess was given to him in a fair trade.

A single life for millions, the living and the potential. As a ruler, the price was understandable if not a tad small all things considered. As a leader, sacrifice was the cost of victory.

As a mother, handing over her own child…that should have been a price too high to pay, kingdom or no.

But her mother didn't even spare her only child a glance, sending her daughter into the hands of the being from another world…or realm…or…she didn't care. Her mother…her Regent, was casting her out to save their realm from Death.

And it worked, the trade was complete as his hand wrapped around her upper arm, nearly engulfing the entire limb with the size difference. If he stooped, a great deal, he might get her arm back to a better angle again, not wrenched badly behind her slender frame, still a bit lanky with youth.

Wood and provisions were being unloaded from the ugly ships, the very ships she was guided to by the one holding her arm, enough to feed the clan holdings for at least a decade. She knew similar happenings were occurring all over the planet, jumpstarting the world once again since the lands had lost the ability to do so independently after the war centuries ago.

One for millions, this better be worth it.

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New York

2012

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The man of Iron collapsing in the lobby of his tower…not exactly what Loki was expecting when seconds before had been in the process of escorting the God of Mischief-shackles and muzzle and all.

The special case holding the Tesseract falling, being shoved across the floor by something unseen…and then dumping the Tesseract at Loki's feet…

Unexpected

And welcomed.

With barely a thought, Loki was gone, falling back into the Void in utter relief. While he was a master at many things, getting himself out of Adamantium restraints was not one of them, and the Void allowed him time. Something Loki hadn't had much of, at least to himself and no one else, in a very long time.

The Void…the shadows, the veins of Yggdrasil, the world between worlds…

He'd mastered stepping into this space that didn't exist centuries ago, sometimes with spells, others with objects. The Tesseract was perfect…the bruises the others didn't see, hidden beneath glamours that hid wounds, and scars, and colors…it all sapped his strength, and only made his headache all that more torrential in the pain radiating to the core of his mind.

Chains had bound him still, physically first, but mentally soon after-gripping his thoughts and emotions to rip apart memories like wet paper. And now…the chains were snapped, no longer tied to the locks that had forced him, his will no longer guided by a puppet master with knives for strings.

At least with the vague shadows and fog ensconcing his immediate surroundings, it was unlikely anything else stupid enough to use the Void as a hiding spot would be able to get near him without disturbing the cover.

That's how the Void worked, the fogs and shadows hid what didn't want to be found, and if something disturbed the lazy flow of particles and dust that masked the space within a space…the mask fell away and showed everything.

And Loki literally meant…everything…

With the time he was given, Loki let himself rest…let his magic swirl out from where it had been bound, letting himself heal…really heal…for the very first time in years.

The Void let him, not fighting the new energy, nor did it hinder his work. It did flex at the intrusion, while familiar with Loki's brand of power, it didn't seem interested in defending itself like it had other times he'd used the shadows to travel.

This time, it formed a hole, somewhere the likes of a broken god could use to recover. While clouded behind the shadows, bones knit over weak gaps, tears in muscles were sewn together, organs were patched and smoothed over, scars were either faded out or hidden behind much better shields…recover…

And regroup, with the tesseract in his possession…the power contained within the glass-like cube…just maybe…

Loki was not expecting the clouds to billow away from him, obscuring his vision until the figure approaching was close enough their darkness was a deeper shadow than the rest.

They were slim, built for running, or knife fighting-Loki would know. Their garb was similar to his, leather and stitched etchings covered their form, a hood obscuring their face entirely. Loki made to stand, stumbling violently when his ragged clothes and armor-hadn't fixed that yet-snagged on the stupid cuffs.

By then it was too late, the figure had the Tesseract in a gloved hand, holding it to their side with little care of the muzzled god before them.

Loki glared, almost shaking as his power snapped out, at least as far as the Adamantium would allow it. But the muzzle was unlocked and fell into Loki's lap.

"How-"

"Dare I?" The voice was hoarse, low and unused other than screaming, Loki knew that tone all too well. The figure flicked their wrist, allowing the glow of the Tesseract to coil up their arm in coils of light, the tendrils glimmered along dark leather until twisting under a heavier sleeve to be absorbed closer to the skin.

"You bring something like this into the Void and don't expect repercussions? You are not meant to be here, not with this."

Loki growled, managing to stumble to his feet. The figure might have been wearing heeled boots, he couldn't tell, but they were close to his height, and while looking down into a dark hood and scarf, he managed to regain a bit of his control over the situation to earn a step back from the intruder.

"I come here seeking nothing more than-"

"To heal, I know, you look terrible." The figure stepped to the side, putting just enough space between them so they both could pace, much like cats picking a fight and scoping out the opponent.

"And yet here you are-"

A low sigh was his interruption the second time, the figure holding up the Tesseract and rolling their wrist once more, the coils moved faster, the internal glow even dimming a little within the case before it settled back to normal. A supernatural beacon in the shadow space.

"I'm here to fix this, now-"

Loki grunted, hissing in pain when the figure flicked their other hand, shoving the dropped muzzle back over his face. They did however, finish what Loki had started, and the dents and rips on his armor were sealed over before the Tesseract was placed in his shackled grip.

"Take this, and pass it back properly, and do not come in here again, you don't belong here."

While annoying, confusing, and obviously powerful, Loki was more frustrated with the figure for slamming the heel of their palm against his chest, wrenching him off his feet.

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And back to New York.

Thor was the one who caught him, stumbling at the force of Loki just about body slamming into him. The God of Thunder grunted before shoving Loki to his feet properly, glaring with all the fury of an overly pissed off brother.

A Shield agent took the Tesseract, staring in disgust at the God of Mischief before the cube was locked away again.

Loki huffed through the muzzle, narrowing his eyes at the Asgardian he once called brother, now he just saw red.

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01:24am

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"Mommy?"

Pepper jerked out of sleep, that voice the only one still able to do so without sending panic to her heart.

Turning enough to see the little girl in her doorway, Pepper rubbed the sleep from her eyes before speaking.

"What's wrong sweetie? Why are you awake?"

"There's a man from the lake."

"Morgan…" Pepper eased out of bed, forcing slumber heavy limbs to move when her daughter scrambled into arms, "There's no one here sweetie, FRIDAY wouldn't let anyone come close to the house."

"But there's a man from the lake!"

While some parenting books said to put things as back to normal as possible, Pepper refused to ignore her daughter's worries. Morgan had been anxious and unsettled since the funeral, and her mother was going to do her best to ease that.

Pepper stood, loving the feeling of tiny arms and legs wrapping around her tightly while SI's CEO trekked downstairs and to the windows facing the deck and lake.

"Look sweetie…there's no-"

There was a man on the deck, sprawled out on the wood planks and not moving.

"FRIDAY-"

"Compound has been notified, help is arriving-"

The hiss of thrusters and whine of hot engines were music to Pepper's ears, Wilson landing on the deck at a run to stand guard in front of the two ladies within the house. Rhodey was walking down the deck towards the unmoving body. When War Machine crouched down to investigate, Pepper wasn't expecting the house to suddenly throw itself into lockdown.

She especially wasn't expecting to hear over the comm system for someone to get ahold of Dr. Strange and Thor…because Rhodey was currently pointing a gun at Loki.

Tada?

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