Loki x Reader: Into the MCU

Chapter 32: Aftermath

"Why can't we bring Nat back? Or Vis or Tony?" Bruce asked.

"Well, you get the stones via time-travel, so you have to bring them back to where they came from...so you can't exactly use the Mind Stone for Vis. Nat sacrifices herself for the Soul Stone. You try to bring her back when you snap, but it doesn't work...it's an everlasting exchange. Tony...well, in theory, was there a way someone could have taken the stones and healed him? Brought him back to life? I don't know. I don't know if someone would risk using them, after they're what fries his brain. He sacrifices himself too, and sometimes there's no option that leads to a win for everyone."

"We're not letting any of that happen," he shook his head, looking at the floor.

"No. No we're not," Nat said, putting a hand on his back.

"We already have the Power Stone and the Space Stone. The Time Stone is with the current Sorcerer Supreme on Earth. The Mind Stone is in Vis, and the Soul Stone is hidden. If we find Gamora and keep her safe, then Thanos can't get that stone. I don't know if Nebula is already captured by him...so he may already have access to the fact that Gamora knows where the stone really is. Our best bet is to keep her safe. And the Reality Stone? Hopefully we can find Tivan. At least he's not where Thanos expects him to be when he goes after the Aether."

"Right...so the next big thing is Gamora," Nat said.

"The next space thing, yes. Heimdall and Thor will have to deal with finding her and Tivan. Besides that? Just earthly things I guess. There's this guy, Zemo, who might still cause some trouble. And a few other things we'll need to address later."

Like the Red Room and Yelena.

"And Hydra," Nat sighed.

"Right, forgot about them," you whined, remembering the pain in the ass Rumlow.

"What about Hydra?" Bruce asked.

"They tried to abduct her from the compound on like her fifth night here. Somehow, they knew about her and her situation."

"Well, they didn't know what they were looking for, but Rumlow pieced together it was me."

"Maybe they have something to do with the portal opening?" Bruce suggested.

"I---I guess that's a possibility," you said, thinking about it.

"I mean how else would they know to come to the compound?" he pressed.

"Ummm...that's a good question," you admitted, furrowing your brow at how obvious it seemed now and how stupid you were.

"Especially because they knew they were looking for something but didn't know what," Nat said in understanding, "The only common denominator, if not you, is the portal."

"Not to come across as arrogant or anything, but how have none of you pieced this together yet?" Bruce asked in astonishment.

"Well, we had some things going on at the time....like space adventures and brainwashed super soldiers," Nat argued.

"And clearly our biggest brain wasn't present at the time," you said, gesturing to him.

"Thanks, but seriously, how did even Tony not think of this? He of all people should know that the energy produced by that portal would be enough for other sensors to pick it up, if they're looking for it. And why would Hydra be looking for it?"

"If they opened it," you finished.

"Exactly," he said energetically, looking like he was enjoying solving science mysteries again.

"It's good to have you back," Nat smiled, enjoying how engaged Bruce was.

"It's good to be back. See? Banner's useful too!"