(AN- I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS CHAPTER IN ADVANCE 😭 I literally sobbed while writing it)
~~~Linda's pov~~~
Aunt Jemma was right. Seeing my parents again brought me the closure I needed, and I know I would have absolutely regretted it if I hadn't.
I smiled to myself as I thought about my dad. He was exactly as I remembered him. Well, almost exactly. He wasn't as tall as I remember him being when I was five years old. But I guess that's to be expected.
I was so caught up in my happy thoughts that I accidentally bumped into someone running in the opposite direction.
"Sorry, sir. I didn't see you there." I apologized, not seeing the man's face yet.
"That's okay. I'm just in a bit of a rush..." He trailed off when he saw who I was. "Linda?"
That's when I recognized him.
"Hey, Deke." I smiled. "It's good to-"
"You're alive!" His eyes were wide with shock as he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Oof!" The air was knocked out of me as he tightened the embrace. I tilted my head as I answered, reciprocating the hug. "I think so. I mean, sometimes I feel a little dead inside-"
"I thought I'd never see you again." He cut me off. "Voss said he killed you... How are you even here?" His voice shook as he spoke.
I didn't know how much Voss told him...
After a moment, I came up with an excuse. "He said he did what?" I scoffed. "He stabbed me, yeah. But it wasn't fatal, like at all. Shoved me in a storage closet and left me to bleed out. I snuck back into the Lighthouse when it docked in the docking bay."
It's a good thing my dad was the God of Lies, or else I probably wouldn't have been able to sell that.
"Seriously? You were in the Zephyr that whole time?!" He pulled away, his eyes wide.
I nodded, but I still felt horrible lying to him.
He didn't know I had magic. He didn't know who my parents were. Therefore, there was no way for me to explain that I had cast an illusion duplicate of myself to spy on Voss. Not rationally, anyway.
"Alright, that aside, I owe you a serious apology. Linda, I am so sorry for what I said that day. I had no right." He shook his head.
"It's okay, Deke. You were upset."
Another lie. What he said still pissed me off to this very day.
I had forgiven him, sure. That didn't mean that I wasn't still mad.
"It wasn't okay. I have spent every day for the past six years kicking myself for what I did and how we left things." His words were genuine, and I could tell he was really sorry.
"Damn it, Deke! Don't ruin my 'I told you so' moment!" I hit his chest playfully with a sad laugh.
Seriously, though. I've been waiting for this moment for six years.
"I know, I know. The prophecy was true all along, and I was an idiot for not believing you."
Yes, yes you were.
"So, I take it you met them?" I tried to act clueless, even though I knew for a fact he had.
"Yeah, they're a colorful bunch. And you could have warned me that half those people have abilities!"
I rolled my eyes. "I did! You never listened! Daisy is Quake, Yo-Yo has super speed, Catherine has magic, and Loki is-"
"A god! A literal god from Norse mythology! And if I remember correctly, you said they'd all be agents of Shield. Two of them were Avengers!"
This man is ridiculous! And I thought he was annoying when I was little.
"You don't remember correctly because I did tell you that!" I defended myself.
We both stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.
Just like old times.
"So, they're all alive? On their way to fix everything?" I asked, even though I knew with absolute certainty that they were.
He has to believe I know nothing about this.
"Yeah." He nodded. "They're all ready to go. But I have to power up the time machine. Care to join?"
I wanted to go with him, but I knew what was going to happen to him once he got to the Zephyr to help Enoch.
According to my parents' stories, when Deke went to the plane and started the machine, something went wrong, and he was also taken back to 2018. If I went with him, I would go back too and mess up the entire timeline.
Plus, I'm not about to leave Cat and Ben.
"I can't," I told him reluctantly.
"Why?" He furrowed his brows, confused.
I sighed. "Look, Deke. I haven't always been totally honest with you."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a reason why this prophecy meant so much to me. More than it just being something my parents believed in. There's more to it than that-" I got cut off by the sound of heavy footsteps running through the hallway.
Kree.
"Oh no," I murmured, turning to the end of the hallway and watching as four Kree soldiers appeared.
"Stop right there!" The one in the front ordered.
Yeah, so no.
I quickly faced Deke. "Go! I'll hold them off."
"What? No, Linda, they'll kill you!" He grabbed my arm, panic written all over his face.
"You need to get them back to 2018. Now, go!" I said firmly. My parents had to get back. They had to.
"But-"
"I said, go!" I was this close to using my magic to teleport him out of there.
"Fine. Just don't die." He sighed reluctantly and took off.
I watched as Deke ran, and as soon as he was out of sight, I used my magic to transform into my battle suit and conjure up my dagger.
I had modeled my suit after my dad's, the gold and green a tribute to him. Even my headpiece was inspired by his helmet.
And my dagger was the same one he gave me when I was three. It was enchanted so that it would magically adapt as I grew. That way, I could use it no matter how old I got.
It was only years after he was gone that I realized how much thought he'd truly put into the custom design of the weapon.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a sword scrape against the metal floor.
Taking in the situation, I smiled to myself. I mean, there's only four of them. This should be easy enough.
"Who's first?" I smirked and raised my dagger.
I don't have a set of daggers like my dad did, but I was very skilled with the one I had.
One of the blue bastards ran at me with a loud yell, which turned into a surprised yelp when I used my magic to lift him into the air and then threw him into a wall.
One down, three to go.
The next two ran at me, and I jumped, using my magic to lift me higher, landing with my legs wrapped around the Kree's neck.
I swung myself around and snapped his neck, leaving the body to fall.
When I landed, I flipped my hair back and lifted my dagger to the third guy.
What can I say? It feels good to kill these guys after twenty years.
I was about to attack him when he suddenly dropped dead, with no explanation as to how.
That was strange...
I shook it off and faced the fourth and final Kree soldier.
This last one was bigger compared to the first three. And this guy wasn't just any random soldier. He had distinct scarring on his hand, a result of a bad injury.
I should know. I'm the one who gave it to him. Twenty freaking years ago.
What's worse is that he seemed to recognize me as well.
I was frozen in place as he walked over to me slowly, memories flooding my mind.
Those haunting memories I tried so hard to forget.
~~~Flashback~~~
"Linda, you need to go." Dad insisted, putting pressure on the stab wound he received just a minute prior.
The Kree found us. They knew who we were and had orders to get rid of us. Kasius wanted us gone.
We had been hiding out on Level 2 when they attacked.
I was kneeling next to him on the ground, trying to use my magic to heal him, but it wasn't working. His injury was too severe.
"I won't leave you." I shook my head. "We can make it out together." I tried not to wince as the Kree started to break through the magical shield Dad had put up at the end of the hallway.
"I wish we could, but that's not how this is going to end." His eyes held a look of defeat, making my chest ache.
"No! You promised you wouldn't leave me! You promised!" I cried, realizing the meaning behind his words.
This was it. How I would lose him. For good.
"Hey, look at me. Look at me." He wiped the tears off my cheek with his thumb. "I know what I said. I know. You've been through so much, and this is in no way fair to you. I want with all my heart to stop this, but I can't." Tears streamed from his eyes as well as he pulled me close to him, my head resting on his uninjured side.
"Please don't make me go. Please." I cried harder, the feeling of dread filling my chest. "I can't do this again. I just can't. I spent three years thinking you were dead-" Sobs interrupted my pleas as I looked up at him, begging him not to make me leave.
I already lost Mom. I can't... I can't lose him too.
"I know. And I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry. But you need to be strong. I need you to be strong for me, okay?" His hand cupped my cheek as he wiped away more tears, his own still falling.
I sniffed back tears and nodded. "I'll try." My voice broke mid-sentence, and the tears started again. "I love you, Dad." I sobbed, and he held me infinitely closer.
"And I love you. So much." His voice broke as he pressed a kiss firmly on my forehead. "The sun will shine on us again, sweetheart. You just have to wait, but I'll be there. And so will your mother."
I nodded, choking back the sob stuck in the back of my throat. "But what if I can't wait? What if I'm not strong enough-" Tears burned my eyes as I tried to hold them back.
"Linda, look at me." He cupped my face with his hands, wiping away the tears that had already fallen. "You are strong. Stronger than anyone I've ever known. And you are destined for great things. I know you are." He smiled weakly.
But... I didn't want to be destined for anything great. Not if my dad couldn't be there by my side.
"Now, run. Run and don't look back." His words felt like knives cutting into my chest as I realized this would be the last time I'd ever see my dad.
And despite every fiber of my being telling me to stay with him, I forced myself to turn and run.
And I kept on running and running. I ran until I reached the end of the hallway, where I made the mistake of looking back.
The shield had dropped, and even though he was badly injured, my dad was fighting to hold the Kree off, giving me time to escape.
That's when it happened.
One of the larger soldiers took out his sword, stabbed my dad in his side, and left him to fall to the floor.
My blood ran cold as ice as I screamed from my spot at the other end of the corridor. "No!"
The whole world felt like it was crashing down around me, and I couldn't care less that I just gave my position away.
Dad...
The Kree took notice of me and ran at me, but I just teleported to the other side of the Lighthouse.
"Dad, can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me." I called out to him, just a sliver of hope left.
I got no response.
"Dad? Dad, please!"
A few seconds later, I got a faint answer.
"I love you, my little shooting star." And then the connection stopped.
The connection I had always had with him just disappeared.
The same thing happened when Mom died.
He was gone.
I stumbled back into a wall, gasping for air as sobs racked my chest, suffocating me.
He can't be gone! He's not gone!
I shook my head and teleported back to the hallway. I wasn't going to believe it.
But when I opened my eyes, I found him on the ground, eyes closed, and lying in a pool of his own blood.
My eyes widened in horror before I collapsed, sobbing over his body.
My throat stung with my cries and grief stricken sobs as I hung onto him, blood staining my hands in the process.
I just got him back! This isn't the way it was supposed to go! He was supposed to live!
In my grief, I grabbed his hand and felt him squeeze back ever so slightly.
I gasped, choking back my tears. He was still alive. But by the looks of it, not for long.
He was so far gone that he didn't even have enough energy or willpower to use telepathy. So far gone that our connection had already broken. But he was still hanging on. For me.
"I'm here, Dad. I'm here. I'm okay. You got me out. I'm safe." I managed through my tears. Even though this was killing me on the inside, I knew he needed me in that moment. "You can rest now."
He was fighting to stay alive, just for my sake. He was going through all that pain and not giving in.
Even though he didn't have enough strength to use magic, I still could. And I could see into his mind. He was afraid and in pain. He was afraid of leaving me by myself.
I gripped his hand tighter and used my magic to numb the pain and give him a feeling of peace. His final moments shouldn't be spent worrying about me.
"I love you too. Now, go be with Mom." I whispered, my voice wavering, still holding his hand.
And then his hand went slack, and I knew he was really gone.
He was dead. My dad was dead.
The realization and grief hit me hard as if the air had been sucked out of me and replaced with sobs.
I cried, and I cried. I'm not sure how long I was there. All I knew was that I had officially lost both my parents, and I was completely alone.
"There she is!" I heard a loud yell from the other end of the hallway and turned to see the same soldiers from before charging at me.
My hands shook with anger as I stared down at my dad's lifeless body, knowing that they had done this to him.
Slowly, I rose from my position on the ground and turned to them, my eyes glowing green with magic.
One of the first things that my dad had taught me while teaching me magic, was to never let my emotions get the better of me. Emotion fueled magic use never ended well.
But in the moment, I didn't care.
They killed my dad.
I felt magic fill my chest, so much so that I could barely breathe. I had to let it out.
And so I did.
I fell to my knees and let out a grief-stricken scream, my magic exploding all around me in a wave of destruction.
All the emotions I'd been feeling since we escaped the TVA two months ago and the invasion started. The pain I felt when Mom died. The immeasurable grief and loss that came with Dad's death. All of it came out in a single scream.
The hallway was filled with wave after wave of green mist, the soldiers being thrown back, crushed, or completely incinerated until there was only one left.
The one who delivered the blow that ended my father's life.
I conjured up my dagger and gripped it firmly, using my magic to throw the weapon straight into the Kree's hand, making him drop his blood-soaked sword and yell out in pain.
That was definitely going to leave a scar.
~~~Flashback ended~~~
I backed away from the alien, my eyes wide in horror.
It was him.
"Ah, so you recognize me. I was afraid you wouldn't." He let out a smug chuckle, unsheathing his sword.
The same sword he used to kill him.
He killed him...
My mind was so clouded by traumatic memories that when the soldier attacked me, I didn't even see it coming.
He threw me into the wall, and I winced as I felt my shoulder dislocate.
I struggled to get up, but he just kneed me in the stomach, resulting in me crumbling to the floor.
"I should have finished this twenty years ago." He taunted me, kicking me repeatedly in the chest and stomach as I let out small cries of pain.
"It... It was you!" I yelled through clenched teeth. "You killed him!" I tried to get back up, but he was just too powerful.
In this state, I couldn't defend myself. I was lost to the trauma.
The Kree bent over and tilted his head, mocking me. "Yes, I did. I have to say, he wasn't much of an opponent. He died a slow and painful death. And seeing as you're about to meet the same fate, I'd say he was a failure as a father."
What did he just say?
I felt rage boiling up inside me, replacing the pain with pure anger.
He could torture me as much as he wanted. But bringing up my dad and proceeding to insult his final moments was a step too far.
My eyes glowed, and I blew the unsuspecting alien into the wall opposite us, using my magic to hold him there.
I got up slowly, glaring at him, smirking internally as I saw his eyes widen in fear.
"My father was not a failure!" I yelled, keeping my left arm outstretched, green mist flowing from my hand as I stormed up to him. "He died protecting me! You only got to him because he was preoccupied trying to make sure I was safe!" Hot tears ran down my cheeks as I continued.
"And you're wrong." I shook my head. "If he failed, I wouldn't be here, killing you." With that, I got out my dagger again and plunged it deep into his chest, and he cried out in pain. "He gave me this dagger. The dagger that is giving you a slow and painful death." I twisted the weapon harshly, tears still coating my face. "I hope you rot in Hel for what you did to him."
Once I saw that he was becoming unresponsive, I swiftly removed the dagger and let his body drop.
I could've used my magic to snap his neck, but that death would be quick and painless, something he didn't deserve.
Another sob came to the surface as I collapsed to the ground, holding onto my dagger like a lifeline. The dagger my dad had given me. The dagger that was the last thing I had left of him.
Through my tears, I stared down at my hands. Hands that had once been drenched with the blood of my parents. First my mom, and then my dad.
All thanks to the Kree.
But as of that moment, my father's killer had met his end and some justice had finally been served.
The only question that remained for me was, if I had been just a little quicker back then, would my dad still be dead? Could I have healed him? Brought him back?
Amid my melancholy thoughts, I heard another soldier approaching.
"Here we go again," I muttered under my breath and stood up shakily.
I lifted the dagger again, but as it turned out, I didn't need to. As soon as the Kree rounded the corner, he dropped dead.
Just like the one from before.
Alright, one I could accept. Maybe he had a heart attack or something. But two? Two dead with no explanation in less than ten minutes? Yeah, no. My luck is not that good.
That's when I noticed something sticking out of his back. A dagger.
Upon closer inspection, I found that it was one of my dad's daggers.
What?
I yanked the weapon out of the body, examining it closely when-
"I believe that belongs to me."
Time seemed to slow as I recognized the voice, and my heart felt like it had stopped beating.
I slowly turned around and saw him standing just three feet away.
He was there.
"Dad," My voice was broken as I blinked back tears of joy.
I took an unsure step forward, stumbling a bit, but I ended up in his arms all the same.
I hugged him tightly, truly never wanting to let go. I just wanted to be in his arms forever.
Even if this wasn't him exactly, it was good enough. He was my dad. Just not my timeline's version of him.
Everything about him confirmed it. He was the same person. His scent, his hugs, the way he spoke... All of it exactly as I remembered it.
I remember when I was younger and I waited by the door of our house for my dad to show up and come back from his latest assignment. I remember the way he'd hug me and spin me around while I laughed.
I remember how whenever I had a nightmare or was sick he would either read me a story as he tried to get me to fall asleep, or lay with me until I felt better.
I remember the distinct scent of the forest and the smell of a burning campfire whenever he would hold me close.
And I remember the sound of his voice. Especially when he would read me bedtime stories or sung me lullabies when I was small.
All these memories came flooding back as he wholeheartedly accepted the embrace, hugging me back even tighter.
I pulled away after a moment, wiping my tears. "I know you don't really know me yet, but I'm Linda. Your daughter."
He nodded and let out a small chuckle before holding something out for me. "You left this behind."
It was my necklace.
I mentally facepalmed, not believing that I had actually forgotten to take the locket back. It was quite literally my most prized possession.
I quickly took it, holding it close to my chest. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost this."
There was a moment of comfortable silence between us before I finally spoke up.
"I'm assuming you have some questions." I played with my fingers, looking at the ground. A habit I picked up from Mom.
"I do, but I figure having prior knowledge of the future might create some problems." He raised a brow knowingly.
I laughed softly. "You have no idea."
"However, there is one thing I would like to know."
I nodded, letting him ask his question.
"Were you and I... Were we close?" He asked with uncertainty in his voice.
If only he knew...
"The absolute closest." I nodded with tears in my eyes. "Now, get back to Mom and the team. You need to go back to 2018 if you're going to fix all this."
He nodded and began to turn and walk away.
I shook my head, knowing that I had to tell him.
"Dad, wait." I stopped him. "Before you go, you need to know something."
"About what?"
I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat and answered. "July 20, 2023. I'll be five years old. Whatever you do, you cannot, under any circumstances, take me to the park."
"The park? Why-" I interrupted him. "I can't tell you more than that or else they might show up. Just promise me you won't." I kept blinking back tears, trying not to think too much about that horrible summer day.
"Okay, I promise."
I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe, just maybe, I saved 'little me' from that awful reality.
~~~Loki's pov~~~
"Loki, the portal's open! Get here now!"
Without so much as a goodbye, I teleported back to Catherine, leaving Linda by herself. Again.
I can't believe that was her. That was my daughter.
And from what I just heard and saw, I'd say my worries of being a horrible father are mixed.
I saw the memory of how I died.
How I left her.
She said she spent three years thinking I was dead. But that doesn't make any sense. In that memory, she was very clearly only five or six.
So how could she think I was dead for three years if that was over half her life and proceed to say that we were extremely close?
Normally, I'd say I wasn't around for her childhood, but if we were close that theory didn't work.
None of this made any sense, and I wasn't even sure what just happened.
All I know is this. I absolutely cannot wait to meet her.