e first thing Fitz was aware of was that he was cold. He opened his eyes, disoriented and confused at first. Then, as he saw he was in the cryo chamber and Enoch was staring down at him from the window, it all came back to him.
"Good morning Agent Fitz," Enoch said as the chambered opened. "I'm afraid there's been a change in plans."
"Change in plans?" Fitz repeated shakily, his body shivering from the cold of the ice he'd been frozen in moments earlier.
"The extinction level event has passed. But another event, which has affected the entire universe, has taken place. Just like before, you are needed Agent Fitz," Enoch said and Fitz stared at him in bafflement.
"What?"
"I believe that he can explain it better," Enoch said as he glanced behind them.
Fitz followed is gaze to see a man in a golden helmet wearing a blue and gold suit with a cape standing behind. The man seemed to just radiate power, Fitz thought. Not like Coulson had, but more like Hive had. His entire being radiated power.
"Who are you?" Fitz asked confused, his teeth chattering.
"You may call me Dr. Fate," Fate said as he walked over. "And you are Leopold Fitz. The one who will put all the pieces together. The one who will save us all."
Earth-1, Barton house
Afternoon
"Alright, let me get this straight," Clint rubbed his forehead fighting off a migraine as he and Laura sat across from the woman who had asked to see them. "You're Freya. From over twenty years in the future?"
"Twenty three," Freya said as her grandparents stared at her in disbelief. "I realize this is a lot to take it."
"The fact that we just put you down for a nap and now here you are a grown woman? No, not at all," Clint said sarcastically and Freya smiled.
"You don't change much," Freya said as she began fettling with the watch on her wrist. "You told me you'd need proof."
Suddenly, a holographic picture appeared in between her side of the table and Clint and Laura's. The couple stared at the picture of Clint, obviously older given the wrinkles on his face and grey in his hair, standing next to a younger Freya, who looked like she was in her early teens. Clint in the photo had a proud smile on his face as he had one of his arms wrapped around Freya's shoulder as she held a bow in her hand.
"I was fourteen then. You insisted I had to know how to defend myself, that I couldn't always rely on my powers, so you taught me archery," Freya said with a smile.
"Does sound like you," Laura noted as she glanced over at her husband.
"You'll understand if I need a bit more proof than a photo," Clint said dryly and Freya nodded as she pushed a button, causing the hologram to fade.
"Call Caitlin, she'll be able to prove that I'm exactly who I say I am. And then, you'll believe me when I tell you why I came here," Freya said grimly causing Clint and Laura to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of their stomachs.
Earth-66, New York
Same time
Frank looked around the streets with complete shock as at all the destruction from the panicking people. Somehow, people had started vanishing into dust like in the bar. It was happening all around New York, maybe all around the world. Frank had seen a lot of strange shit, but nothing like this. This took the cake.
"Mr. Castle," a voice spoke up behind him.
Frank turned around to see a black man in a trench coat wearing sun glasses. Frank's senses were telling him that this guy meant business.
"Relax Castle; I'm not your enemy. I'm Nick Fury, former director of SHIELD," Fury said and Frank narrowed his eyes.
"Thought you were dead," Frank said, reaching for his gun.
"Thought the same thing about you once," Fury said and Frank nodded, having to give him that. "And if I wanted you dead, you'd never see me coming. So get your trigger finger away from that gun and let's talk."
After a moment of eying Fury wearing, Frank nodded, lowering his hand away from his gun.
"Alright, let's talk," Frank agreed.
Wakanda
Not long after
After the battle, they had retired to the palace. Although none of them felt much like doing anything but curling up into a ball and breaking down.
Barry sat in the room Okoye had given him, sitting on the bed. He stared down at his hands numbly, seeing Wanda and Cisco turning into dust before his eyes. Barry glanced over at his side, seeing his suit and the claw marks where the alien had scratched him. It was damaged suit, a suited suit. But Cisco wouldn't make him another one. Cisco would never do anything ever again.
Suddenly filled with fury, Barry tossed the suit away. Seeing the sword, he picked it up and threw it across the room, where it hit the wall with a loud bang.
"Barry," Steve said as he entered the room, looking about as well as Barry felt.
"I don't deserve the suit, I don't deserve that sword. We call ourselves heroes, but we're not. All we do is fight a losing battle," Barry said as he turned away from Steve. "We lost. And now they're all gone."
"It's not over yet Barry," Steve said and Barry looked at him incredulously. "Thanos is still out there. There's still a chance to undo this."
"We'll just lose again. We're down by half Steve! Wanda, Sam, Cisco, Bucky, even T'Challa are all gone! Thanos is the one enemy we can't beat!" Barry shouted.
"I can't believe that. I won't believe that," Steve said firmly.
"Then you can go to hell," Barry said as he sat down on his bed. "It's over Cap. We lost."
Flash cave, Earth-1
Late afternoon
"Well," Caitlin said as Clint, Joe, and Wally all stared at her. "Her DNA matches up perfectly with both Barry and Wanda's. And she has definite signs of Speed Force energy in her system."
"I told you," Freya said as they all stared at her.
"We're sorry, but it's not the first time someone has come up to us claiming to our friend," Joe said and Freya nodded.
"Zoom, I know. But, now that you know I'm who I say I am, I can tell you why I'm here," Freya said and the four of them gave her their undivided attention. "Thanos."
"Thanos, the guy trying to gather the Infinity Stones?" Clint asked, remembering Caitlin's explanation about what was going on back on Earth-66.
"He didn't try, he succeeded. And then he did exactly what he said he was going to do: half the life in section 66 of the multiverse was wiped out. Mom, Cisco, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes and so many others were all killed," Freya said to their horror. "By now, it's already happened."
"Why didn't you go back there then, stop this?!" Wally exploded.
"I couldn't. Before it happened, Stephen Strange, a master of the mystic arts, looked into possible outcomes of the fight against Thanos. In millions of possible futures, there was only one where Thanos was defeated and everyone was brought back," Freya explained.
"And let me guess, you know what it is?" Clint asked and Freya shook her head.
"No, I'm only following orders from the person who does know," Freya said, to everyone's confusion.
"Who are they?" Caitlin inquired.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Freya said with a slight smile before frowning. "The point is things need to go a certain way if we want to win this, bring everyone back. Caitlin, Grandpa Clint, you need to head to Earth-66. They need you."
"You sure about that?" Clint asked wearily and she nodded.
"Natasha needs you and dad and Steve need Caitlin. You lost because you were divided. If you want to beat Thanos, The Avengers need to stand together," Freya told them firmly.
"Well…guess I better go tell Laura that I'm going on a business trip," Clint said, knowing Laura and the kids wouldn't be too happy with that.
"Just let me make calls. Can't leave Star Labs as often as I used to," Caitlin said and Clint nodded in agreement.
New Titan
Same time
Thanos sat on the porch of his hut, staring out at the peaceful planet he planned to make his new home.
"I did what I set out to do," Thanos said as someone walked up behind him.
"But it can still be undone. The Flash and The Avengers won't stop until they succeed or are dead," his guest said.
"I beat them before," Thanos said and his guest laughed.
"Beating them isn't enough, killing them isn't enough. You need to take away their hope. You need to make it so they will never be able to pick themselves back up again," his guest said.
"You know them well, don't you?" Thanos noted and his guest laughed.
"I know Allen. Leave him to me, you can deal with The Avengers," Eobard Thawne said, a sick grin crossing the face of Harrison Wells.