power to the girls

“Well, this one is all yours, kiddo. Congrats, you’ll love it.”

“I’ll gladly take this one from you, boss.” Sharon winked, pointing as Morgan pounded on the window, trying to get their attention. “I think you have your hands full.”

From what I know, a lot is similar to Norse mythology. Thor’s the god of thunder, Loki’s the god of mischief… Vikings didn’t get everything right, but the nine realms and a lot of their mythology is real. Now though… I don’t know, I think they’re becoming more like normal people– At least, they were. Thor’s going through some shit right now, and the version of Loki that started to not want the end of humanity is dead. Everything is kind of up in the air until we get a good read on whatever’s going on in this Loki’s head.”

“And we need to find out what this Loki’s intentions are. Before the whole end of humanity thing...again.” Sharon sighed, letting her head roll back between her shoulder blades. “No biggie. We’ve already been through that once before. Well...you guys have. I didn’t really make it through that first time.”

“Yeah, trouble is kind of his M.O.” Tony sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Thor told us that Loki started to… I guess not come around to the good side, but he at least wasn’t as driven towards villainy without Thanos breathing down his neck. Now that the great threat is gone… who knows, maybe he’s just around to be a huge dick and nothing else.”

“Really?” Sharon’s eyes widened. “Guess I missed that while I was floating around with the wind.” She was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Exactly how much are they like the legends? Thor and Loki...you know them better than I do.”

Tony scoffed. “Beck was a piece of shit and a psychopath. I don’t believe whatever lies he told Peter to try and get him on his side. The kid is too trustworthy sometimes,” Tony sighed, just glad they wouldn’t have to deal with that particular ghost of his past anymore. “But Strange has brought up the idea of the multiverse. I probably wouldn’t have even humored him a few years ago but now… Well, anything is possible.” He thought of Thor and the conversations they had since they fished him out of New Asgard. “Loki died at Thanos’ hand in our world, we know that for sure. This Loki… I’m not eager to go up and offer to have tea with the guy, but if Nat or I could get a good look at him… I think we’d be able to figure out if it’s our same 2012 Loki or not.”

“The kid did well for himself, I’ll give him that.” Sharon sighed. She wasn’t the biggest fan of having a 16 year old out in the field, but if Tony trusted the kid...”You know, that isn’t a bad idea. I’ll see if Romanoff can’t get a closer look.” Sharon leaned against the railing, her back to the lake. “If this is Loki, we can’t rule out the possibility that there’s no real reason he’s here, other than to cause trouble.”

Tony chuckled, shaking his head. “Planning I can do. I’ll leave it to the rest of you to carry them out.” He follows her gaze back inside, watching as Pepper smiles encouragingly down at their daughter, dipping a finger in the potatoes and tapping it against her little, freckled nose. “Pepper’s right, though. I don’t know if I’ll ever really stop.”

“Fair enough.” Sharon laughed. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.” She admitted. “Maximoff is collecting intelligence. We know he has the same powers as Loki, for the most part. He apparently has no recollection about the past few years, but Thor said Loki died on Statesman. So, that checks out.” Sharon explained, going into full agent mode. “Since you guys said he got hold of the space stone, the best possibility is that this is past Loki jumping forward into the future, but...” She shook her head. “Something tells me not to rule out alternate universes...ever since Peter had that run in with Quinten Beck...bringing up the idea that we ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe? After everything we’ve seen...it doesn’t seem practical to rule that out.” She sighed, kicking her boot against the edge of the railing. “It’s just a gut feeling...so substantial evidence.”

“She did get her powers from the mind stone which he did use once. Might have something to do with it.” He sighed and stared out at the lake. “Waiting is the worst part,” he agreed with a dry smile. “Guess we’ll have to make a plan then.”

“We?” Sharon looked back at Tony, a knowing smile on her face. “Exactly how much are you stepping back again?” She looked back into the house, Pepper and Happy were talking to an animated Morgan, who seemed to be drawing something in her mashed potatoes. “You aren’t slipping back into old habits, are you?”

Tony sighed. He remembered laying there in a daze after his unexpected run-in with 2012 Hulk by the stairs, watching as Loki had simply snatched up the Tesseract and disappeared. “Yeah, we dropped the ball on that one– Well, the cube. I guess we can’t know for certain until we can pin Reindeer Games down and ask him about it. The rest of the stones are destroyed, but if the Space stone made its way back into our timeline… well, who’s to say?”

“Maximoff has been keeping tabs. For some reason, he seems drawn to her.” Sharon shrugged. “I just don’t like not having a plan. I know we need more information, but I get antsy waiting.” She admitted, drumming her fingers against the railing of the deck. 

“Function without me? That’s a lie and we both know it,” he teased. “I’m still around for when you guys might need me. Come on, what’s up?”

“This whole thing with Loki...” Sharon explained. “Steve told me you guys went back in time, but I’m wondering if this is time line Loki or alternate universe Loki.” She shrugged. “After all, if he escaped with the space stone...who’s to say he hasn’t been all over space and time?” Sharon looked up at Tony with a grimace. “And if the infinity stones are in play again, what’s gonna stop someone from collecting them just as Thanos?”

“It’s fine, everyone’s full of pasta in there anyway. They won’t notice if we step out for a sec,” he glanced over his shoulder to where Morgan was sitting at the table with Pepper and Rhodey, echoing back a story she had heard about Norse mythology– her newest obsession. “Come on,” he grabbed his glass of wine and nodded towards the back deck, stepping outside with Sharon.

“Tony-” Sharon started before he started walking outside. She sighed, following in his wake with her plate. “It’s okay.” Sharon told him, leaning against the railing of the deck. “I know you stepped away for a reason. The Avengers can function without Tony Stark.” 

What’s up?

Avengers stuff...sorry, I know this is supposed to be a family dinner.