Loki x Reader: Into the MCU

Chapter 48: Time Heist

"Messing with time is tricky," Bruce rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wren's doing it," Rhodey said.

"That's different," Bruce countered, "She's not from this world. She's not going back in her own timeline to cause an alternate one. For all we know, in this universe, she was meant to change things."

"And you saw how half-successful she was," Tony said, earning a glare from Zemo, who was silently watching. "Not saying it's her fault," Tony rolled his eyes at the Baron, "Just that time likes to mess back with you. Even if Wren was supposed to come here, she's not winning without the universe putting up a fight. If we start messing with history, the future we set up for our alternate selves could be worse than we'd think."

"Worse than this?" Nat raised her eyebrows.

"We have a chance here," Steve said, "And no one here died in a way that isn't reversible. Change things, no matter how we think we're helping, and it could lead to something worse for that timeline."

"So we try to screw up as little as possible," Clint nodded, "Meaning we let the sacrifice happen."

"Thanos would just drag more people to Vormir after we left," Thor added.

"So Maw, that's the Voldemort-looking guy?" Tony asked, but Nebula just shook her head a little in confusion, "Pasty skin, no nose, thinks he's all that?"

"Yes, that's him," she confirmed.

"Ok, Voldy," he said, writing the name on the soul stone display, "Anyone else you know that's going with him?"

"He'd have taken Obsidian with him. Maw doesn't like to get his hands dirty if he can make that brute do it."

"So Obsidian's the muscle that was with him?" Tony asked, swiping to bring up the footage from their attack, "These two, right?"

Nebula nodded again.

"So we take these two, we take the soul stone," Tony said.

"Wren also told me we have to return all the stones to the time we got them," Steve mentioned.

"Why?" Nat asked.

"Because if you think something as small as saving a life or tipping your younger selves off could cause drastic events, think of the cataclysmic scale of change that could be wrought by removing the most powerful sources in the universe," Zemo said.

"Thanks, Silent and Broody, we'll take that into consideration," Tony sassed.

"He's out of line, but he's not wrong," Bruce said, "We can't throw off another reality for ourselves."

"The Sorcerer Supreme before Strange makes Bruce promise to return the time stone for that reason," Cap confirmed.

"When does Bruce go for the time stone?" Vision asked.

"2012," Steve said, understanding hitting the others.

"There're three stones there," Nat said.

"Shut the front door," Bruce said in shock.

"My scepter," Loki nodded.

"The cube," Thor smiled, "Three right there."

"Tony, Scott, Bruce and I go there. I get the scepter from Rumlow."

"Oh yeah, strike team did come and get it didn't they?" Clint said, eyes narrowing as he thought back.

"Bruce goes for the Sanctum Sanctorum, Scott essentially gives 2012 Tony a heart attack so modern Tony can swoop in for the case with the Tesseract."