Forever (Always)

Chapter 4

Half of the universe, with a snap of the Mad Titan's fingers, was gone and everyone grieved. Thanos had finished his long-sought quest in Wakanda, removing the last stone from The Vision, and it was a sight that would be carved in the minds of the heroes forever and some.

"Dammit!" Rocket kicked a piece of scrap metal away from him, ignoring the way his paw throbbed in pain. "Fuck!"

"What are we going to do?" The original members of the Avengers, minus Tony, sat quietly in the Compound, tears staining most of their cheeks. Thor looked as though he could collapse at any moment.

The sound of a door sliding open and footsteps walking towards them barely registered to the heroes. "This is not what I thought I would see today."

Heads snapped around to look at the voice, and everyone came face to face with Perseus, the god smiling gently at them. "Percy!"

Perseus wasn't better than he was before, but he was speaking to people now, able to hobble around painfully with the help of his newly acquired cane. Since Loki's passing, his body had seemed to shut down, which meant that he had not moved his muscles, if not at all, while he was in the medical room. His hands shook where he stood but he refused a seat offered to him by Steve, instead preferring to peer at them from the entrance of the common room.

"Have you given up?" The god questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Teacher," Thor began, looking up from where he was sitting with his head in his hands. "I- Your son-"

"I know exactly where Anthony is." He interrupted, his voice calm as he studied his student. "I was not talking about him. Have you all," Again, he gazed at everyone in the room. "Given up?"

"You act like we chose to!" Rocket shouted, nearly snarling despite the respect he felt for the god in front of him. Everyone had heard stories about him, from his battle prowess to his garden- and now for his lost Angasiiar. "We didn't choose to lose!"

Perseus sighed quietly, shaking his head. "You misunderstand me. I am aware that you did not choose to lose your battle. No one goes into a war such as that with the intent of never coming home. I asked if you have given up now."

"The battle is over." Steve murmured, looking down at his boots. His fists were clenched tightly, knuckles white. "What more can we do?"

"Despair has clouded all of your minds." The god hummed, his muscles stiff in an effort to hide the way they wanted to tremble from standing too long. "It has clouded mine as well. The battle is not over, Steve Rogers. Out there," He tilted his head towards the large windows. "There is an entire world that has lost loved ones and does not know how or why. Would it be wrong to say that they deserve an explanation?"

Bruce was the next one to speak, clearing his throat. "And if they blame us?"

"Humans will blame whatever they can for the cause of their grief." Perseus breathed out, faint amusement in his voice. "You all are very interesting that way. I am not telling you to get over your grief, but do not let it consume you." The unspoken 'like it consumed me' was heard throughout the room.

"When do we... Talk to the world?" Natasha grimaced, her lips twitching into an almost smile when Steve placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Soon. Perhaps in a few days. For now, we will wait and let our bruised hearts breathe."

x

Captain Marvel came down in a ball of fire, and her eyes were filled with righteous anger. In learning what had happened to those she held dear, she vowed to destroy Thanos herself, but there was no satisfaction in killing someone who could not fix what was broken. Instead, she promised to help where she could, and the first step was to bring Tony and Nebula home.