NEW ASGARD

"This is so weird."
"You'll get used to it."
"Will I?"
"I don't know. I hope so."

Nyla laughed as she bounced in the back of the pickup truck she, Bruce and Rocket had taken up space in. The change that Bruce had undergone was only mildly strange as she was grateful he was finally able to control the part of him that he'd loathed most of his life. She decided to tag along with them after speaking to Tony, much to Rocket's annoyance. He didn't like last minute changes and he made it transparently obvious when she went to climb out and he practically shoved her over the side.

If it hadn't been for Bruce catching her, she'd have ended up with a mouthful of gravel.

"Watch it, pipsqueak," Nyla snapped, patting Bruce's hand in thanks. Rocket cackled in the horrible way he usually did accompanied by the slapping of his leg and the ache of his stomach.

"That was classic! You shoulda seen your face!" Bruce shook his head and Nyla bent over to look Rocket right in his beady little eyes.

"Keep it up and I'll skin you for a hunting hat."

His laughter faltered as she straightened and walked down the port where a familiar face was busy at work.

"She serious?" He muttered to Bruce as they followed after her.

"I really couldn't tell. Angry Girl!" He greeted Valkyrie, who gave him a strange look. She was dressed in human attire as was the rest of the Asgardians that survived the attack of the Mad Titan.

"I think I liked you better either of the other ways."

"This is Rocket."

"How you doin'?"

"I've already told her. He won't see you," Valkyrie said.

"It can't be that bad," Nyla protested.

"We only see him once a month when he comes for...," she looked over her shoulder at a pile of empty kegs, "supplies."

"It's that bad," Bruce said with a sigh.

Valkyrie nodded.

"Yeah."

"Thor?"

Nyla slowly stepped inside the house Valkyrie had directed them to and jumped away from the door as it creaked half off its hinges. All three of them grimaced once they got further in, the stench biting at their noses and making their stomachs clench.

"Woo! Something died in here," Rocket grumbled.

"Hello? Thor?"

"Are you here about the cable?" His gruff voice came from another part of the house and Nyla cautiously followed it, her jaw dropping once she finally caught sight of him.

"Thor?"

He was still as good looking as ever, Nyla couldn't deny it, but it wasn't that which made her mind feel like she had stepped into a different dimension.

"BOYS!"

He wore a ratty old bathrobe with the strings untied and gray sweats that clung low on his hips, exposing the beer belly he'd acquired since the last time she'd seen him. A beard had grown itself out to right above his chest and his hair a bunch of bushy knots between his shoulders. The smile he wore contrasted the appearance of the "depressed drunk" label that popped into Nyla's head, but the smell of his breath more than made up for it as he grabbed her in a tight hug and swung her back and forth.

"And Nyla-Rose! Oh, you've gotten so big! You're so beautiful!"

"Thor," she smiled with ease and worked her way out of his embrace, "it's so good to see you."

"Of course, of course. You know my friends, Miek, Korg, right?"

"Hey guys!" The pile of rocks wearing an aloha shirt and playing a video game with an unidentifiable creature next to him waved merrily. "Beers on the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously. Thor, he's back!" Korg said suddenly. "The kid on the TV that called me a dickhead again."

"Noobmaster?"

"Yeah, Noobmaster69."

"Noobmaster? Yeah, it's Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder? Listen, buddy. If you don't log off this game immediately, I'm gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you're hiding in, rip off your arms then shove them up your butt!" He hissed. Rocket and Bruce exchanged bewildered looks as Nyla face palmed, shaking her head. "Oh, that's right. Yes, now go cry to your father, you little weasel!" Korg took his headphones from Thor with a nod.

"Thank you, Thor."

"Let me know if he bothers you again. So you guys want a drink? What are you drinking? We have beer, tequila, all sorts of things."

"I'm sorry, did you just—you know what? Never mind." Nyla walked over to the window as Bruce quietly talked to Thor. If she talked to him, she might end up dragging him into the Benatar by his ear, but that was no way to do things. He was obviously still in the grieving process of what had happened five years ago and Nyla could understand that. Everyone dealt with it differently.

"So whatever it is that you're offering, we're not into it, don't care, couldn't care less, goodbye."

She sighed and turned to see Bruce with a helpless look on his face. She'd have to pull out the big guns, then.

"Thor," Nyla knelt beside the armchair he sat in, "please. We have a chance to make things right and we need you. You're just as important as anyone else on the team."

"Like this?" He burped and let out a loud laugh. "I'm no use to anyone. Ask the Asgardians down there. I have no purpose anymore."

"I'm not gonna ask anyone because I know for myself how much you're worth," Nyla snapped. "This is a good life you built here." Her tone softened as Thor lowered his head, staring at the pack of MnM's he'd just opened. "But, we need your help to give back the lives of everyone we lost five years ago. We need you, Thor."

"There's beer on the ship."
"...what kind?"
"Is that really all I had to say?"

—————

"Okay. So, the "how" works. Now we gotta figure out the when and where."

Steve took on the familiar role of leadership with Tony and Bruce adding in their own bit. The full team was back again with the addition of the Guardians and surrounded by the people of whom she was most familiar with, Nyla felt a swell of pride in her heart for them. A second chance at undoing everything that had caused the world to become an even more bitter and dying place. A chance to bring everyone back.

"That's Jane..." Thor's booming voice dragged Nyla out of her own head and she looked up to see Thor staring at an image of an attractive brunnette. "She's... an old flame of mine... She...she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time...and then the Aether stuck itself inside her..." Nyla cringed. "And, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead."

Nyla pressed her lips together to keep from laughing despite the graveness of his situation.

He was just so drunk.

Steve gestured with his head at Tony and he stood, trying to push Thor gently back to his chair.

"I'm not done yet. The only thing permanent in life is impermanence." He continued in an urgent tone.

Tony nodded and clapped his hands together.

"Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?"

"I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you."

Nyla buried her face in Natasha's shoulder.

So drunk.

By the time they'd all sorted out the "when" and the "where"s of each stone, Nyla was more than ready to go. She'd embraced and spent time with each and every one of them as much as she could between the planning and the building.

She talked to Natasha about her feelings.
Hugged Clint and brushed his apologies for losing her aside, comforting him all the while.
Drank with Thor until the sun came up.
Laughed like she never had before when Steve and Tony bantered with Rocket.
Spent time with Pietro of whom she had greatly missed due to the brotherly role he'd taken up when she first met him.
In the early hours of the morning when they needed to take a small break, Nyla would cook and they'd play board games or talk about anything under the stars, heated moments between everyone melting away the unavoidable pressure of what was to come.

She knew Carol had much to do throughout the rest of the universe meaning she wouldn't be present, but she comforted herself with the fact that she would come home when it was all finished. Nyla had tried to get her to use the phone she'd given her to contact Nyla more easily, but between Carol's cluelessness of how to use it and forgetting she had it entirely, Nyla gave up on the idea. So, it was a great surprise when her phone began to ring in the middle of the night and a picture of the goofy blonde popped up on the screen, making her smile lovingly even though she was half-asleep.

"Romanoff."

"Danvers."

"You wouldn't believe—close I had to come—good service. Thing—useless."

"I'm surprised you figured it out at all."

"Haha. Your sarcas—unappreci—I miss you."

Nyla bit her lip as though trying to contain her happiness through the little action at Carol's words.

"I miss you more." She replied, moving to lay down on her bed. Ever since she'd gotten used to sharing it with Carol, it always felt too big for her and she would stretch her body as far as it would go to make up for the empty space.

"That's not—," Nyla's eyes began to droop as she listened to Carol's voice cut in and out, "that's not possible. Damn—the hell—connection—"

Nyla laughed tiredly and despite the fact that she hadn't heard from her girlfriend in weeks, she was slowly falling asleep, but clutched the phone to her ear like a lifeline.

"I love you, Danvers," she whispered into the phone.

"I—you, too Roma—I love you so—"

It was in her voice. She could hear how much Carol loved her, how much she wished she could come back and hold her in her arms, kiss her on the forehead and fall asleep with Nyla's head snug against her chest. They'd say how much they loved each other almost every day, but every single time either of them said it, it always felt like the first time and no matter if it had been said repeatedly...they always fell in love all over again.

It was these moments that she was fighting for.

Nyla-Rose wanted them all to know that she really and truly loved them by doing what she could to make sure they remembered what they were to each other. What they'd always been to each other.

After excusing herself from dinner, leaving her mom with Bruce and Tony, she found herself on the balcony, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her eyes trained on the night sky. There was something about the sky that she admired. Whether night or day, the vastness never failed to amaze her, full of clouds one hour and exploding with stars the next. A mystery to mankind.

"Nyla-Rose."

Pietro flashed her a grin, seeming to appear out of nowhere. His brilliant white hair was a beacon of light in the darkness as it blew around his face, framing his sharp blue eyes that gazed intently into Nyla's own.

"Pietro Maximoff. And where might've you been?"

He shrugged, putting his elbows on the rail and leaning slightly forward.

"Around. Being a free spirit."

"Tethered to New York, I'm sure."

"Ha. Yeah, right."

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

Nyla opened her arms and wrapped them around his waist.

"You should get some sleep," he whispered as she craned her neck to look at him.

"You're always telling me what to do," she whispered back loudly. Pietro drew back in surprise before letting out a loud laugh, enjoying himself so much that tears began to gather at the corner of his eyes. Bewildered with her heart racing, she watched as he grew serious, giving her a smile.

"I know. But, you never listen."

Nyla sighed and drew him back in for another hug, this time squeezing Pietro as hard as she could before letting go.

"You really should, ya know. I always tell you, but you still look like crap," Pietro complained jokingly.

"Stop telling me what to do," Nyla snapped.

He shook his head at the young woman as she retreated, giving him a firm salute to which he returned.

"Good night, Pietro."

"Good night, Nyla-Rose."

"All right. We have a plan."
Steve looked around at the team.
"Six stones, three teams. One shot."

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends... We lost family... We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that," Rocket muttered.

"Right?"

"I feel like this is where we echo something...ya know, in support," Nyla said, looking around at the others with a smirk.

"Like what? Kumbaya?"

She gave Pietro a nasty glare and he winked. Nyla stood next to her mom as she bounced excitedly, smiling at Nyla before looking at Steve. Nyla wished she had that confidence because in all truth, she felt like a nervous wreck on the edge of upchucking. She quickly glanced at Tony and, sensing her distress, he gave her an encouraging smile.

Deep breaths.
One.
Two.

"See you in a minute," Nat said to Steve.

Nyla let out a huff, looking around the room before her helmet formed around her head.

"I hope this works."