**A/N: Online semester TORTURED my laptop. I'm talking daily forced resets, programs crashing, or just not working at all. And then it insisted on downloading a new software in order to work again, which I didn't have enough room for. So, I present a very delayed update.

This chapter contains movie AND original script dialogue, so you'll recognize some parts and not others.

Chapter 10

When Tony insisted that he had got enough rest, the entire team gathered together to discuss what had happened in the last three weeks. Steve had suggested to Bethany that she get a little extra sleep, since she was essentially operating on nothing but caffeine, but she declined. The dark bags under her eyes reviled those of Tony's. And although nothing could compare to the weight loss that resulted from Tony's extended journey to space, Steve noticed that Bethany had also lost a few pounds. In fact, everyone in the room seemed to have slimmed down since their return from Wakanda.

"It's been twenty-three days since Thanos came to Earth," Rhodey explained as the group looked at a slideshow of holograms, headshots of their missing comrades flickering about the room.

"World governments are in pieces," Natasha filled in. "The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did… he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures on Earth."

"Not just Earth," Carol reminded them, her eyes never looking away from the image of Fury in front of her.

"You sure about that?" Rhodey challenged.

"You never have to ask me that," Carol promised, her eyes flickering away from Fury's image to meet his.

"Where is he now?" Tony asked. "Where?"

"We don't know," Steve said softly. "He just opened a portal and walked through."

"What's wrong with him?" Tony asked, gesturing to a sullen-looking Thor, sitting behind a glass wall, close enough to still be a part of the group, but far enough away to not be involved.

"Oh, he's pissed," Rocket explained. "He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know, there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?"

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear."

"Maybe I am," Rocket accepted.

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks," Steve continued, bringing the conversation back on track. He could feel Bethany looking at him with her tired eyes, but he couldn't meet them right now. He couldn't see the failure in her eyes. "Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him."

"Who told you that?" Tony asked, his face filled with shock. "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight."

"Okay," Steve replied softly, nodding his head, very similarly to how he would talk to the kids when they were upset.

"He's unbeatable," Tony pressed on.

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?" Steve replied.

Tony's response was less than mature, a sarcastic 'pfft' escaping his lips. "I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming."

Frustrated, Steve tried again. "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus."

"Steve," he heard Bethany caution quietly, but it was lost in Tony's outbreak.

"And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?" Tony began to stand, pushing objects off the table, filling the room with a clatter, which everyone reacted to by wincing. "I need a shave. And a burger, not a bowl of soup. And I believe I remember telling all youse-"

"Tony, Tony-" Rhodey reprimanded as Tony pulled the IV from his arm as he continued his rant.

"-Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!"

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve reminded Tony, thinking back towards Ultron and the mess that made. In a lot of ways, Ultron led them down the path to where they were.

"I said 'we'd lose'," Tony pointed out. "You said, 'we'll do that together too.' And guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the 'Avengers', we're the 'Avengers'. Not the 'Pre-vengers'."

"Okay," Rhodey said softly, trying to guide Tony back to his wheelchair.

"Right?" Tony asked directly to Rhodey.

"You made your point. Just sit down," Rhodey half-begged.

Steve stood a little straighter as he watched Tony get a little more agitated fighting against Rhodey's guidance, adding more banter to the conversation, including a compliment towards Carol.

"We need you, you're new blood," Tony informed the blonde as he freed himself from Rhodey, walking closer to Steve. At this point, Bethany stood up from her spot, approaching him with caution, but a sense of authority. "Bunch of tired old mules. I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar."

"Tony," Bethany said in a hushed whisper, but Tony didn't move his gaze from Steve's. In that moment, Steve could really see everything that he had done to hurt Tony. For two years, Bethany had carried so much guilt, but the look in his old friend's eyes showed Steve that he had hurt Tony just as much as Bethany had. Steve watched as Tony reached for his Arc Reactor, tearing the piece away from his chest and shoving it into Steve's hand.

"Here, take this," Tony seethed. "You find him, and you put that on. You hide."

Everyone reached towards him as he collapsed to his knees. "Tony," Bethany whispered again, quickly moving down to her own knees in front of him. "I know you did everything you could."

"It wasn't enough," Tony whispered to her, his voice weak and body shaking.

"It never is, is it?" Bethany replied carefully before Tony fell unconscious into her arms.

Bethany sat on the couch outside of Tony's room, but this time, facing the door. She began to rub the left side of her face with her hand that was propped up by the arm of the couch, feeling pressure deep within her skull. She knew she was tired. She knew she was stressed. And she knew that Steve's insistence that she rest was with good intentions, but she couldn't bring herself to agree to them quite yet. Even if she did crawl into bed, her brain would be too busy to rest. And on the odd chance she did fall asleep, she was terrified of what visions her dreams would bring her.

She knew that Steve's reassuring hand on her back shouldn't bother her the way it was. He was trying to help, trying to calm, trying to comfort. But Steve's comfort wasn't what she needed in that moment. Not after that confrontation with Tony because he had some valid points. And when the consequences of decisions meant losing your children, it was difficult to just accept and move away.

"Bruce gave him a sedative," Rhodey told the room. "He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day."

"You guys take care of him," Carol told the group. "And I'll bring him a Xorrian Elixir when I come back."

"Where are you going?" Steve asked as Carol began to walk away.

"To kill Thanos," Carol said with indifference.

Steve and Natasha looked at each other before following Carol, Bethany and Rhodey right on their trail.

"Hey," Natasha began, catching Carol's attention. "You know, we usually work as a team here, and between you and I, morale's a little fragile."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My fault," Carol began sarcastically. "All right, team! I'm going to go kill Thanos. Message me if you get any intel that can help. Otherwise, I'll report back when he's dead. Great work, everybody." Bethany knew this was supposed to an insult of some kind, but she was too tired to do anything but smirk. Carol's words and attitude didn't seem too different from her past self's.

"We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too," Steve reminded her.

"You even know where he is?" Rhodey pressed on.

"I know people who might," Carol said with ease.

"Don't bother," Nebula's voice sounded from behind Carol. "I can tell you where Thanos is."

Bethany's spine straightened, as if a burst of electricity had just shot through her. Her headache, every single tired nerve in her body vanished with those simple words. The group eagerly followed Nebula back into a meeting room, collecting Banner and Thor along the way. Bethany's hand somehow finding Steve's during the short journey.

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me," Nebula began to share, her voice quiet and filled with pain. "And when he worked, he talked about his Great Plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask 'where would we go once his plan was complete?' His answer was always the same: 'To the Garden.'"

"That's cute," Rhodey allowed. "Thanos has a retirement plan."

"So where is he?" Steve pushed, knowing there was more.

"Well, Bethany had the right idea about tracing the stones," Rocket told the group, bringing the holo table to life with an image of the Earth. "When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it... Until two days ago." A new holographic planet appeared, vibrations from shockwaves travelling through the core. "On this planet."

"The planet is unnamed, but inhabitable," Nebula explained. "Rich atmosphere, good soil."

"A garden," Steve summarized.

"Thanos is there," she confirmed.

"He used the stones again," Natasha pointed out softly.

"For what?" Bethany spoke up, her own voice shocking her a little. She had been virtually silent all day. But as everyone looked at her, she continued. "Why would he use them? It looked like it pained him when he used them the first time."

"Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know," Bruce reminded the group.

"Because he killed all our friends," Rhodey remind him.

"Are we saying they're dead? We're using that word now?" Rocket surveyed the room.

"No," Bethany quickly replied, shaking her head. "We're not." She refused to accept that as an option. Gone was one thing. Dead was another. And in her opinion, they were very different, especially in how they'd impact her psyche.

"Look, he's still got the stones," Rhodey spoke, continuing to be a downer.

"So let's get 'em," Carol said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah," Steve agreed. "Just like that." Steve and Carol shared a knowing look and Bethany watched the two of them carefully. There was so much in Carol that she had seen in Steve. They were cut from the same cloth, and Bethany had a feeling that Carol's story wasn't that much different from Steve's.

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try," Natasha consented, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce questioned.

"Because before, you didn't have me," Carol informed the room, making Bethany bite back a smile that felt foreign to her face. Just like Steve, she thought, taking in the confidence that Carol was radiating.

"Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?" Rhodey disputed.

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys," Carol pointed out.

"Hey Rhodey," Bethany called out. "Stop being such a fucking downer and challenging every positive word that comes out of someone's mouth."

The entire room looked shocked at Bethany's words, but she didn't care. She needed this. And it felt like every single sentence that had come out of Rhodey's mouth that day had been a negative one. She knew from experience that negativity didn't do anyone any favors in battle. And they needed all the favors they could get.

Thor, who had been absolutely silent all day, put his snack down and began to walk to Carol. He stood, dangerously close to her, his body language challenging her. Carol stood her ground, not even flinching when Thor summoned Stormbreaker over to him, narrowly missing Carol's body. She gave him a smirk as her only response.

Thor was silent for a moment before giving his approval. "I like this one."

For the first time in three weeks, the entire room seemed to be filled with a sense of hope they all thought was lost forever. "Let's go get this son of a bitch," Steve instructed the room, his eyes meeting Bethany's for the first time in what felt like a long time. She gave him a small smile, showing him that she had faith in their plan. She had faith in them.

Bethany secured the end of her braid with an elastic. Steve stood in the doorway, wearing his old stealth suit. It was the only suit they could find that didn't need extensive repairs. She could feel Steve's eyes on her, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. "I'm going. Nothing you say will change my mind."

"You've barely rested-"

"Neither have you. No one has," Bethany pointed out. "I'm not going to sit here, waiting to see if my kids reappear or not. I'm going with you, end of story."

Bethany stood in front of him, looking up so that their eyes met. She did everything she could to summon the confidence to show him just how determined she was to do this. "You're a fool to think anything but having them back in my arms will fix me. We do this. Together."

The last word seemed to strike a chord deep within Steve, as if bringing him back to Tony's banter from earlier, but he accepted her statement. With half the team gone and Tony too weak to fight, they needed everyone they could get. They had no idea what kind of challenge Thanos would present to them. There was a part, a big part of Bethany that believed that Thanos was suffering just as much as they were. She had saw what the stones had done to him. That wasn't something anyone could easily heal from… well, anyone but her.

As they boarded the Benatar, Bethany thought about that for a moment. Assuming everything went according to plan, and they got the stones, someone would need to use them to bring everyone back. Everyone around her would want to be the one to do it, but ultimately, Bethany knew that it had to be her. Based on what she saw, what she heard, the stones power surge could cause irreparable damage and crippling pain. The only other person who could maybe wield the stones would be the Hulk, who was hiding like a child, and maybe even Carol. But Bethany had a feeling that not only could be maybe successfully control the stones, but that she could. She kept this to herself, knowing that Steve wouldn't like this, and he still had the opportunity to kick her ass off the Benatar.

As the Benatar left the atmosphere, a thought raced towards Bethany. I'm in space. She felt emotion well up inside of her. She remembered a time when it was a pipe dream to get a satellite into space, and here she was, there herself. An odd sense of excitement built up in her, much like a kid going to Disney World. It was better than being in Shuri's lab.

"Trust me, you get used to it," Carol told her with a smile, but Bethany shook her head. She didn't think that was possible.

"Okay," Rocket began, "Who here hasn't been to space?"

Natasha, Steve, Rhodey and Bethany rose their hands in accordance, Bethany's eyes fixed on the dark expanse in front of her.

"Why?" Rhodey asked with caution.

"You better not throw up on my ship," Rocket warned the new passengers.

"Approaching jump in three…two…one!" Nebula announced before the ship surged forward, their bodies being forced back into their chairs. Steve's hand reached out for Bethany's, holding onto it for dear life, but all Bethany could do was stare at the universe around her, absorbing every single moment. She hated that this experience would forever be tainted due to Thanos.

As the ship slowed down, Steve loosened the grip on her hand, but didn't let go of it. Bethany leaned forward, looking at the planet beneath them in wonder as Carol left the Benatar.

"I'll head down for recon," she told the group. "If I'm not back in fifteen, you'll know I found him."

"I really like her," Bethany told Steve quietly. "Her giddy optimism reminds me of you."

She said this with hope that she'd get a small smile from her husband, but he just reached inside the suit and pulled out a compass. Bethany frowned for a moment before Steve flipped open the antique, revealing the picture of her he had slipped into the lid during the war.

"I guess I left it in here," Steve whispered, looking at the old photo. "You've change so much since then."

Bethany said nothing, but slowly reached out and closed the lid. Visually, she hadn't changed much. That wasn't what Steve was referring to. But he was right. She had change. They all had.

"This is gonna work, Steve," Natasha told him.

"I know it will," Steve replied, but his voice didn't have much confidence. "'Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't."

Bethany didn't get a chance to reply, Carol approaching the ship with uncertainty on her face. "No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him."

"And that's enough," Nebula replied.

As the ship moved down to the planet, Steve slipped his hand into his pocket, his compass within his grasp. The picture inside, of Bethany, young and innocent, untouched by so much tragedy was difficult to look at. The Bethany he had fallen for, so outspoken, so confident, so smart and witty… she had never really recovered from his disappearance. The person he had returned to was outspoken, confident, smart and witty, but not in the same way she had been back then. Too many of her decision, too many of her experience had tainted her view of life. He didn't love this Bethany any less. If anything, he loved her more. This Bethany had somehow, despite all the pain and heartbreak, become a soft and loving person. She had become a mother. And as they walked towards Thanos, Steve's heart hammered within his rib cage. If they didn't succeed, would he lose her too? Would this be too much? Would this drag her back to that dark version of herself? Could he blame her if she did? And would he follow suit?

Everyone but Steve, Natasha and Bethany rushed forward, using their powers to their advantage to weaken Thanos. At the entrance of his little hunt, Steve took a moment to take in how good it was to see Thanos on his knees, unable to escape Carol and Rhodey's grip. Rocket moved over to where the gauntlet laid on the ground, Thanos' hand still inside, rolling it off its side and confirming what they all saw with a "oh no".

"Where are they?" Steve demanded, after moving closer to the gauntlet.

Thanos didn't respond, only groaning with discomfort. The left side of his face was charred, scarred from using the stones.

"Answer the question," Carol instructed, tightening her grip.

"The universe required correction," Thanos offered between tired breaths. "After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce yelled from inside the Hulk Buster, pushing Thanos backyards with aggression that would have previously awoken the Hulk.

"You should be grateful," Thanos spat before Bruce punched him.

"You don't get to decide what we're grateful for," Bethany seethed. "Where are the stones?"

"Gone!" Thanos replied. "Reduced to atoms."

"You used them two days ago!" Bruce countered.

"I used the stones to destroy the stones," Thanos revealed. Gone. Reduced to atoms, Steve thought, his breath catching in his throat. He could feel every ounce of power within him crumble. In that moment, Steve could swear he felt his heart break into tiny little pieces. "It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be. I am… inevitable."

"We-we have to tear this place apart," Rhodey attempted. "He-he-he has to be lying."

"My father is many things," Nebula revealed. "A liar is not one of them."

"Ah, thank you daughter," Thanos attempted. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

There was a quick moment of nothing before rage filled the entire hut, Thor raising Stormbreaker and bringing it down in one quick movement, Thanos' head separating from his body. And just like that… he was gone.

"What… what did you do?" Rocket asked, his voice a mix between despair and disbelief.

"I…I went for the head," Thor replied, his voice dry.

Steve's eyes moved towards the empty gauntlet. His jaw ached, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. His fists clenched together, his fingernails no doubt leaving crescent-shaped marks on his gloves. It was only when he heard a feminine sob did his gaze move away from the gauntlet. The entire team was broken, starring at nothing, eyes water or throwing things around. But there was one thing missing: Bethany was nowhere in sight.

"Bethany?" Steve tried to call but had to clear his throat for the words to have any volume. He moved out of the hut, calling her name again, his heart beating faster than he ever thought was possible. "Bethany?!" He called into the distance.

"I'm here," Bethany whispered, Steve looking down. She was sitting right outside the hut, her back up against the wall. Her body was curled up into a ball, her gaze on the distance. There were no tears in her eyes, none running down her face. But the defeated look on her face said everything. Steve reached out for her but stopped himself. He couldn't look at her. He was already so broken, so destroyed, that he couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes and take her pain as his own.

When they got to the door of the New Avengers Facility, Bethany's body came to a sudden halt, Steve's chest hitting her back. "You go ahead," She told him, her voice empty of any real emotion. "I'm just gonna… I'm just gonna sit outside for a little."

Steve went to argue, but Carol put a hand on his shoulder. "You go," She told him, watching as Bethany sat on the ground outside the facility. "I'll stay with her."

Steve looked at Bethany and then back to Carol before giving a curt nod. When the rest team, defeated in every way possible, was inside the facility, Carol sat down next to Bethany. Carol knew who Bethany was—how could she not? Fury had only mentioned her a dozen or so times. Even when surrounded by aliens, Fury had seemed amazed with the SHIELD agent. She didn't really get it then. And really, Bethany hadn't really done much to change her opinion, but the Bethany that Fury told her about was different from the Bethany she was sitting beside. The way Fury described her to be was a ruthless spy. In his words "there's nothing she can't handle".

"I'm sorry," Carol offered, the words sounding stupid as soon as they left her lips. "I'm sorry about your kids."

And that was it, wasn't it? She was different because of her kids. Because of her husband. Because of her family. She was different because everything that made her that ruthless SHIELD agent was the absence of those things.

"I used to be optimistic about the future," Bethany shared. "My brother and I would dream about what would happen. About what would be. Flying cars, and cures to uncurable illnesses. A peaceful world. I would spend nights, sleepless, designing and reading, and tinkering and exploring… I would do all of that, dreaming about the future. And not once during those days did I think about having kids. Life would have been a lot less painful if I had just stayed like that."

Carol stayed silent, not knowing how to respond to that. She could tell from Bethany's voice that she didn't really want that to be reality—that she wouldn't change her life with her children, even if it ended in heartbreak. It was merely an observation. There was something eerie about Bethany's voice in that moment. There was no emotion in it—there was no sadness or anger. There was nothing. It was almost robotic.

"Someone has to tell them," Bethany continued. "Someone needs to tell them that everyone they love, their parents, siblings, kids… none of them are coming home. They aren't coming back."

**A/N:

Cleo9427: It's going to be one chapter a year, but some may be shorter than the usual chapter lengths (about 4000 words). I'm not sure how many chapters this will end up being. I'm aiming for 35 total, but we'll see. And no Theo in this chapter, but he'll be in the next one for sure. I've got a few storylines coming up for him. I considered them having another baby, and honestly was pretty excited about it, but then I realized that if they had a baby, Bethany would realistically stay behind during the Time Heist. I can't see her joining them if a baby is waiting for them, so I've decided to nix that idea.

Zikashiagaku: He definitely will understand when Morgan is born. I'm planning on using her as a way to mend their relationship.

Anonymouscsifan: He will forgive her! Eventually haha. I considered them having another baby, and honestly was pretty excited about it, but then I realized that if they had a baby, Bethany would realistically stay behind during the Time Heist. I can't see her joining them if a baby is waiting for them, so I've decided to nix that idea.

CaptainLoki: Tony is in a lot of pain, and when we're in a lot of pain, we say things that we don't necessary mean. We may think them, but we know that we shouldn't put them into the world.

HogwartsBestAvenger: I'll give it a listen! Thanks! Also, I believe I picked Switzerland for their house location, but I never specifically mentioned that location cause I'm from Canada and I didn't want to write things about Switzerland that aren't true, so I just kinda based the location around there.

Wonderwomanbatmanfan: I am VERY excited to write the Time Heist! I don't mind people asking for updates, since it's a great motivator, but my laptop has IsSuEs that made it IMPOSSIBLE to write. I finally fixed them, so hopefully I'll be able to get back onto a writing schedule. Thanks for all the support!

Ellidraco1014: She's going on the Time Heist 1000%! I'm gonna work real hard to make sure she doesn't mess with the timeline.

Random question: Hmm, they did work once upon a time. I know fanfiction is weird about posting links. If you wanna give them a watch, you can find them on sorryeverafter on tumblr. I'll repost them so they are at the top I actually think I have a few more on my laptop too that could be posted.