[ Thor takes a swallow of his own drink; the stein it comes in is roughly the size of his head. It would be a pitcher, if not for the fact that he's not planning to share it.
I can, she says. Thor meets her gaze with a small nod nods. She knows what she can take, and he has always quietly suspected that Natasha was made stronger than even his hammer. ]
It seems I've nothing but questions, as of late. [ It's ironic - there was a time when he had even called upon the Norns for some glimpse of the future. Now, there are so many people willing to lay it out before him, it's difficult not to feel powerless - as if he's simply been unmoored from time, and it has long moved on without him. ]
[ Like she'd wait for him to share. If she wanted some, she could help herself. Besides, hers is plenty big as it is.
Instead, she gives him time to sort through his thoughts, waiting for him to decide where to start. Even if she knows where it will be. Where it will be for all of them. She recalls that conversation with Steve, before Lang had shown up. About moving on, and those of them that just... couldn't.
Her especially. But she knows this team. What they mean to one another. What they are willing to do. So she has an easy answer ready for his question when it comes. Even though from the serious note in her tone, he would be able to hear the answer is not all he hopes. ]
We did. You did, actually. Cleaved his head right off his shoulders. But... [ She stares down at her ale, knowing this part will be the most painful for him to hear. ] But we were too late. It took us too long to find him, and then to reach him. He knew we'd be coming for him. For the Stones. So he used them again - to destroy them. To make sure no one would ever be able to gather and use them again. When we found him... it had almost destroyed him in the process, using it twice, but he'd done it.
[ He remembers the promise he made to Valkyrie, to the people who died, to his brother - though Loki cannot know it, and will not know it. He will kill Thanos. Destiny has ordained it so, and that should bring him some comfort even for the briefest moment.
Instead, Natasha's words sink into him like a knife, and he knows he's suspended in that moment before the pain, before the blood, before he has registered the inevitability of the wound.
He had expected that Thanos would fight for the stones, that there would be a battle, a victory narrowly won from the jaws of defeat. He had always expected that the stones would continue to exist, and that he would wield them long enough to undo all of the horror. He'd held that belief for all of his time here. In return, it had held him together. ]
No, that's not... [ His drink clatters to the table loudly enough to turn heads. He barely registers the alcohol splashed over the sides, the stein only barely saved from tipping. ] What are you saying?
[ She inwardly curses at his reaction, but there had been no way to beat around that particular bush, and she doubted Thor would thank her if she did. Instead, she just reaches out to lay her hand on his arm, maintaining eye contact.
...Not all that different in how she reacted to an agitated Hulk, when she thinks about it. ]
I'm saying that Thanos destroyed the Stones... and for a long time, we thought we lost. That it was over. But that's not the case.
[ Because she won't let him sink back into that same hopelessness again, not if she can help it. ]
[ He struggles for composure, but it isn't until Natasha lays her hand on his arm that he seems to manage it. He's still tense, he holds her gaze as if all of his remaining strength resides in her.
He takes a breath. ]
I don't understand. What hope is there without the Stones?
[ She makes a face, because explaining science is hard enough, but taking science she barely understands and then translating into Asgardian space magic is a little out of her area of expertise. ]
So there was this scientist on earth who experimented with shrinking someone down to a subatomic level and.... look, he got made really really small and wherever he ended up, he found out that time moved differently there. So when he popped back into the real world, he'd only had five hours pass when it had been five years for the rest of us. Taking that, he ran with the idea that if we could find a way to navigate that realm, we could choose the time and place of our exit.
Meaning... [ She lifts a hand to wave it around and gesture at, well. Everything, because this still sounded utterly ridiculous to her. ] We figured out where and when we'd encountered each of the Stones in our past... and then went back to retrieve them to fix our present.
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no subject
I can, she says. Thor meets her gaze with a small nod nods. She knows what she can take, and he has always quietly suspected that Natasha was made stronger than even his hammer. ]
It seems I've nothing but questions, as of late. [ It's ironic - there was a time when he had even called upon the Norns for some glimpse of the future. Now, there are so many people willing to lay it out before him, it's difficult not to feel powerless - as if he's simply been unmoored from time, and it has long moved on without him. ]
What happened? Thanos - did we kill him?
no subject
Instead, she gives him time to sort through his thoughts, waiting for him to decide where to start. Even if she knows where it will be. Where it will be for all of them. She recalls that conversation with Steve, before Lang had shown up. About moving on, and those of them that just... couldn't.
Her especially. But she knows this team. What they mean to one another. What they are willing to do. So she has an easy answer ready for his question when it comes. Even though from the serious note in her tone, he would be able to hear the answer is not all he hopes. ]
We did. You did, actually. Cleaved his head right off his shoulders. But... [ She stares down at her ale, knowing this part will be the most painful for him to hear. ] But we were too late. It took us too long to find him, and then to reach him. He knew we'd be coming for him. For the Stones. So he used them again - to destroy them. To make sure no one would ever be able to gather and use them again. When we found him... it had almost destroyed him in the process, using it twice, but he'd done it.
no subject
Instead, Natasha's words sink into him like a knife, and he knows he's suspended in that moment before the pain, before the blood, before he has registered the inevitability of the wound.
He had expected that Thanos would fight for the stones, that there would be a battle, a victory narrowly won from the jaws of defeat. He had always expected that the stones would continue to exist, and that he would wield them long enough to undo all of the horror. He'd held that belief for all of his time here. In return, it had held him together. ]
No, that's not... [ His drink clatters to the table loudly enough to turn heads. He barely registers the alcohol splashed over the sides, the stein only barely saved from tipping. ] What are you saying?
no subject
...Not all that different in how she reacted to an agitated Hulk, when she thinks about it. ]
I'm saying that Thanos destroyed the Stones... and for a long time, we thought we lost. That it was over. But that's not the case.
[ Because she won't let him sink back into that same hopelessness again, not if she can help it. ]
no subject
He takes a breath. ]
I don't understand. What hope is there without the Stones?
no subject
So there was this scientist on earth who experimented with shrinking someone down to a subatomic level and.... look, he got made really really small and wherever he ended up, he found out that time moved differently there. So when he popped back into the real world, he'd only had five hours pass when it had been five years for the rest of us. Taking that, he ran with the idea that if we could find a way to navigate that realm, we could choose the time and place of our exit.
Meaning... [ She lifts a hand to wave it around and gesture at, well. Everything, because this still sounded utterly ridiculous to her. ] We figured out where and when we'd encountered each of the Stones in our past... and then went back to retrieve them to fix our present.