Chapter Text
“There might be a way to bring back those we lost to the Soul Stone,” stated Dr. Strange.
Peter Quill felt like he could breathe again. He could get Gamora back! It had only been a day, well felt like a day, since he found out Thanos sacrificed Gamora for the Soul Stone, but he couldn’t imagine his life without her. She was a part of his family, the first person he fell in love with, the love of his life. He was going to get her back.
Before Peter could speak, Clint Barton asked, “How?”
“My idea is to send some of you into the Soul Dimension to find them, but I don’t know for sure if it’s possible or not.”
“I thought you were all-knowing, doc.” Tony Stark commented.
Strange gave him a look. Stark smirked back.
“So, you’re saying there’s at least a possibility of getting them back?” Rhodey asked, clarifying.
Strange nodded.
Wanda Maximoff smiled. “We can get Natasha back.”
All of the other Avengers smiled too. Peter guessed this ‘Natasha’ was also an Avenger and meant a lot to them. Just like what Gamora meant to him and the rest of the Guardians.
“And Gamora.” Nebula added. She had an expression on her face that Peter had never seen her show before, hope. It was a little weird to Peter her acting this way, seeing as how she was when he first encountered her. Yet again, he had come a long way from being a Ravager and stealing things.
These reminders about the possibility of bringing Natasha and Gamora back lightened the atmosphere, even with the destroyed landscape from the fight with Thanos behind them.
“Don’t get your hopes too high,” T’Challa, the Black Panther told everyone, “The doctor said it is only a possibility.”
“Right.” Steve Rogers nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Strange, when will you know if this theory is possible?”
“I will consult with Wong tonight and tell all of you what I found out tomorrow.” Strange answered.
“Okay, and who exactly is Wong and how will he help?” Sam Wilson asked, confused. Peter was glad someone asked the question because he too was confused how this Wong guy would help.
“Wong – he’s uh… my coworker.” Strange explained.
“Isn’t he the new Sorcerer Supreme?” Bruce Banner asked genuinely.
Strange turned towards Banner, “Yes.” he said bitterly.
“Wait, I thought you were the Sorcerer Supreme.” Thor stated.
“I was, but because I was dead for five years Wong took over the position.” answered Strange, still bitter.
“But shouldn’t you have the position back now?” Scott Lang asked, joining in the conversation.
“You would think but no –”
Peter cut off Dr. Strange. “Okay, I have no idea what you guys are talking about but how is it important?”
“Yeah, can we get back on topic?” Barton urged.
“So, like I was saying, tomorrow I will gather everyone here and explain what I discovered.” continued Strange, back on the subject.
“Wait, so if it really is possible for us to go to the Soul Dimension, how exactly are we going to get there?” Carol Danvers questioned.
“Through the Soul Stone.” Strange answered in a doesn’t-everyone-know-this voice.
“How?” Bucky Barnes spoke up, confused.
Strange sighed. Peter could tell he was getting annoyed by these questions.
“I will perform a spell that involves the Soul Stone that will send some of you into the Soul Dimension.” Dr. Strange explained as simply as he could, like he was teaching something to a child.
“You won’t be able to use the Soul Stone. I’m taking the Stones back to their proper timelines today.” said Rogers.
Strange looked like he was about to protest so Banner added, “We need to put them back. The Ancient One told me herself.”
“I know, but you actually have a time machine. You can put them back at any time. Can’t you wait a little longer until I find out if this way is possible?” Strange asked.
Banner and Rogers looked at the other people who knew how important putting back the Stones were. They all nodded in approval.
“Yeah, we can wait a little longer.” Stark said for all of them.
“Hey, where’s Peter?” Thor asked, looking around.
Peter was about to say that he’s right here, but then he realized that Thor was talking about the other Peter. The kid Peter. He didn’t remember Peter’s last name, so he just started calling him ‘kid Peter.’
“You just realized that now?” Rhodey asked Thor.
Thor didn’t respond.
“He’s with his aunt. I told him to spend some time with her since he was gone for five years. He protested, saying he wanted to come to this debriefing, but I reminded him that he has school tomorrow.” said Stark answering Thor’s question. “We done? Debriefing adjourned?”
“Does anyone have anything else to say?” Rogers asked everyone.
No one spoke up.
Rogers continued, “Strange?”
Strange shook his head.
“Alright, as Tony worded it, debrief adjourned.”
“I’m home!” Clint called to his family, stepping inside his small farm home. Almost immediately after he called, he heard footsteps from upstairs. Cooper, Lila, and Nate Barton ran down the stairs.
“Dad!” They said, giving Clint a group hug.
“Hey guys!” He put his arms around his kids.
“Dad, you're going to give me more archery lessons tomorrow, right?” Lila immediately asked Clint.
Clint took a moment to respond. “Lila I’d love to, but I have another work meeting tomorrow. How about this weekend?”
“Okay, you better!” said Lila.
A few moments later, Clint heard more footsteps coming downstairs. He looked up to see who was on the stairs. It was his wife, Laura.
Clint still couldn’t believe he had his family back. He knew they were only gone for five years, but it felt like an eternity. He had missed them so much. So much so that he let his grief get the better of him, making him go on a killing spree as Ronin. He never killed any innocent lives, but he didn’t know how to feel about the whole situation. He had killed before, but this wasn’t because of a mission or to help better the world, it was out of pure hate and sorrow. The fact still remained; Clint killed them in cold blood.
Laura and Clint smiled at each other, not saying any words. Laura came down the rest of the stairs and Clint kissed her on the cheek. Clint looked at Nate and then realized what time it was.
“Nate, why are you still awake? It’s past your bedtime buddy.” Clint asked Nate.
“Story!” Nate answered back.
“I tried reading him to bed, but he kept saying he wanted you to read to him. He refused to go to bed until then.” Laura explained.
Clint smiled. It warmed his heart that his youngest wanted him, not his mom, to read to him. “C’mon Nate, I'll read to you.” He didn’t care that he should be in bed by now. He was just happy that he could read to him again after five years.
“Yay!” said Nate.
Clint picked him up and they went upstairs.
“Is Nate asleep?” Laura asked Clint who was in the doorway of their bedroom.
“Yeah, finally. I had to read the whole book; he really did not want to go to sleep.” Clint climbed into bed, right next to his wife.
Laura put down the book she was reading. “How did the debriefing go?”
“There might be a way to bring Nat back.” Clint jumped to the most important part.
A smile of disbelief formed on Laura’s face. “That’s great! But is it really possible to bring someone back from the dead?”
“No, Nat didn’t actually die. When she… sacrificed herself, she went to this dimension called the Soul Dimension.”
Ever since the final battle against Thanos, Clint couldn’t stop thinking about Natasha and how she took his place for the Soul Stone. If only he’d jumped off the cliff sooner. If only Nat hadn’t stopped him. Then she would be here right now. He’d never stop blaming himself for her death. Like he told the other Avengers right after he lost her, “it should have been me.” But learning that she’s actually alive, Clint would do anything to get her back even if it was a small possibility of doing so. For once, he actually had hope.
Laura paused for a moment to take in the information. “So, when you said ‘might be a way to bring Nat back,’ you don’t know for sure?”
“No. That Dr. Strange guy has a plan to do a spell that involves the soul rock that will send us into the dimension, I guess. But either he doesn’t know if the spell will send us into the other dimension or he doesn’t know what spell to use, I don’t know. He's not sure if the plan will work. He’s consulting with his co-worker and will tell us if the plan is doable or not tomorrow.” Clint explained. “But the fact is, there’s a possibility.”
“That’s better than nothing.” Clint could tell that Laura was hopeful as well about this plan. Like Clint, Laura too wanted Natasha back.
Clint smiled, “Yeah.” Seriousness took over his face, “Laura, if it is possible to bring Nat back, I need to be the one that does so. If the plan works, we’ll probably be going to this dimension tomorrow. I don’t want to leave you and the kids so soon but…”
“You need to do this.” Laura finished for him.
Clint nodded.
“Clint, you don’t need to ask my permission. I understand, and so do the kids. Bring Nat home, for all of us.”
“Yes ma'am.” Clint kissed his wife, so happy that she understood.
“Good morning, Gam–” Peter rolled over and saw that the side of the bed next to him was empty. This was the second day that he woke up and Gamora was not there. He sighed and got out of bed.
After getting dressed, Peter went to the main area of the Benatar to get breakfast. He realized that he was the last person to wake up, since he saw all his friends already there.
“Hey.” he said, greeting them.
“Hi.” Drax, Rocket, and Mantis responded.
Peter bent down and grabbed some food from the refrigerator. He opened the food, eating in silence alongside everyone else.
After a few minutes, Mantis broke the tense silence. “We could get Gamora back today.” she softly stated.
“We don’t know for sure if it’s going to be today. We don’t even know if that magician’s plan is possible.” Nebula retorted back.
“Yeah but if it is possible, like Mantis said, that magician probably will send us into the Soul Dimension today where we’re going to get Gamora back.” Peter said hopefully.
“That’s a big ‘if’.” Nebula expressed.
“I am Groot.” Groot stated, joining in the hope conversation.
“We should have hope, yeah.” Rocket commented, translating.
“Weren’t you hopeful at first when the magician first announced his plan?” Peter asked Nebula, confused.
“I was at first. Then reality set in and I realized it’s a small chance of working. Of getting her back.”
“Do you not want Gamora back?” Drax questioned, puzzled.
Something seemed to switch in Nebula. “Of course I want Gamora back! I want her back as much as you do! She’s my sister. But –”
Rocket cut her off, “Nebula, it’s okay to have a little hope. Yeah, it might be a very, very small chance of getting her back. But if we believe then maybe, just maybe it’ll be possible.”
Rocket’s response really surprised everyone except Nebula.
“Who are you and what have you done with Rocket?” Peter asked the talking raccoon who looked just like Rocket.
“Shut up Quill.”
Nebula thought about what Rocket said for a moment. “Fine. Maybe… maybe I do have a little hope.”
All of the Guardians smiled a little, glad that Nebula was finally on the same page as them. Yeah, Nebula only joined the team a little bit ago but they all cared for her. Peter could tell that especially Rocket did, probably because of all of the things they went through together when the rest of them were gone. He couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been.
Suddenly, everyone heard a weird sizzle noise and saw an orange portal appearing in front of them. Out of instinct, they all drew their weapons and pointed them at the portal. A man with a goatee, blue robes, and a red cape walked out of the portal; Dr. Strange.
The Guardians lowered their weapons. “Oh. It is the magician.” Drax observed.
Dr. Strange looked appalled. “Magician? I’m a sorcerer.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Peter.
Dr. Strange was about to answer when Rocket spoke first. “Hey, you can’t just barge in here. We have the ramp up for a reason!”
“How else would you like me to come and talk to you guys? It’s not like there’s a doorbell.” Dr. Strange retorted.
“Knock!” yelled Rocket.
Strange’s face turned from an expression like seriously? to never mind. “Meeting in five minutes. Go to the same place we were yesterday.”
Peter’s brain just clicked in his head what the meeting was about. “Wait, what did you find out?”
“Is it possible to get Gamora back?” Nebula desperately asked, adding to Peter’s question.
All of the Guardians stared despairingly at Strange, wanting to know the answer. Dr. Strange sighed. Peter guessed that he wanted to wait to tell everyone at the same time what he discovered.
At last he said, “Yes, my plan is possible.”