Whatever it Takes

Chapter 2

The man who once tried to kill her and her friends was holding the green branches together while sitting on a gold chair. He now looked somber, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His eyes were older, as if he had seen too much in his lifetime.

"What do you want," Natasha asked, not fully trusting him. No matter what Thor said about his brother, he was still Loki.

"To give you an offer," he replied. "You lost so much. Yelena, your parents, Clint Barton, the Avengers, Bruce Banner."

"How do you know my sister's name," she asked in a harsh tone. Clint and Bruce were the only two people who knew about her family.

"I know everything about you andd I can give you the chance to make things right. After Ultron you began to lose everything bit by bit. I can give you the opportunity to set things right."

"Give me one reason why I should trust you."

"Because I'm not the god I once was. I've changed."

All of her training and instincts told her she could trust him. His voice was softer than it once was, his stance comfortable while sitting in the chair and there was something more royal about his attire.

Normally this would be crazy, but she had seen some unimaginable things in the last 11 years since the Avengers were formed. From aliens to AI robots, to Infinity Stones, to time travel, Natasha felt like she had seen it all, so this did not seem too far out of the ordinary.

"Can I find Yelena sooner?"

"You can."

Natasha thought about Ultron, Vision, the airport battle, finding her family and destroying the Red Room, Thanos, and the snap. But she knew Ultron would lead to the accords and the airport battle. That would lead to her sister contacting her after breaking free of her mind control because of the antidote. Natasha knew she couldn't find her sister sooner or free the other Widows without that, but she could change other things.

She looked at Loki who was waiting for her answer. Thor once told her about Loki sacrificing himself to save him. She wondered if that could be changed, then Thor and Loki wouldn't be alone.

"I should mention that if you decline the offer," Loki interrupted her thoughts. "Then you're going to die again."

"What," she asked in a baffled tone.

"Smart Hulk tried to bring you back. You're not meant to live again, so you ended up here," he said with sadness in his eyes. "If you don't do this, you'll die."

Natasha sighed. She wasn't about to let what Bruce did be for nothing. If she had another chance to save innocent people and make things right, she was going to take it.

"I'll do it," she said. "How are you going to take me back?"

"I'll send you back by opening a sort of door to the timeline. Once that happens, you will create a new branch and be able to change whatever you want. It won't change what happened in the sacred timeline, but I'm giving you a chance to write your own story."

"What's the sacred timeline?"

"Your original timeline. When I send you back, you will have already changed your mind about things and that will create a new timeline as soon as you arrive. One where you can save who you can."

"How are you able to do this? The last time I saw you, you were trying to take over Earth, now you're different."

"I escaped while the Avengers were messing with time, then I was arrested by the Time Variant Authority, also called the TVA. They gave me a chance to be a better person, I met a female version of myself and she killed He Who Remains at the end of time. By doing that, branches started growing from the Sacred Timeline which put the TVA and my friends in danger. I began to be pulled from time and space, but I learned to control it. I was able to stop the TVA and the branches from being destroyed. Then I sent myself here to give everything a chance to live. Now, I want to give you that same opportunity."

Natasha knew she could trust him and said, "Thor would be proud of you."

He smiled a bit at that and plucked one of the branches, then opened it. He nodded, giving Natasha the signal to walk through.

Natasha took a step and the next thing she knew; she was in the snow. She looked around her and saw the other Avengers fighting near a HYDRA base.

Her hair felt lighter and looked shorter at the sides. She saw that she was wearing one of her old suits with the blue light. She was in 2015.