Pocket-Sized Avengers: Burnout

May 13th, 2019 was supposed to be like any other day.
The PSA and I were doing target practice in the basement by use of the humans' dart board. Tony had his repulser beams, Chris with his shield, Natasha with her Glock, Rhodey with his shoulder guns, Thor with Mjolnir, Hawkeye with his arrows, and Wanda with her magic. It was one of those rarer days where both Vision and Jocasta were away (visiting Nessa and Jonas respectively), although that wasn't completely abnormal. I still hesitated to consider Jocasta as part of the Pocket-Sized Avengers. I didn't know why, because I was trying to see her as more than an outsider. Of course she wasn't a Marvel figure like the rest of us, and I realized that wasn't her problem, it was mine.
I didn't know why I couldn't adjust. Most likely my emotions were due to the fact that I still struggled to fit in myself.
Granted, the PSA was what I could indefinitely call my second family. Wanda was my best friend, and I was no longer ashamed to consider Thor as my brother. Nobody seemed to show adversity to my character anymore, nobody except Hawkeye. I was starting to wonder if it was something that I was doing to make him feel that way.
"Loki! You're up."
My head snapped upwards immediately. It was Hawkeye, of course, summoning me to the range.
"Are you going to use a dart this time?" He asked as I came closer.
"I was thinking about it," I replied. "But really, what good is my scepter then if I can't use it?"
"You know, the darts are heavier."
"Exactly."
I resumed posture and hurled my scepter like a spear towards the dartboard, scoring a double twenty.
"You see, you wouldn't be having that problem if you threw something with a little more weight."
"I'll consider it."
"You could consider it now."

Hawkeye was stubborn as always. I decided to might as well make him happy. I just had to pray I wouldn't dent the wall. "Okay, I'll try."
"Don't try, just do." He said, handing me a black-feathered dart.
I did my best to hold back a groan. My heart hadn't been in the training lately, probably because we were never told what we were training for. And I missed my other group of friends, the quote unquote "Disney dolls". Luckily, I would be seeing them tomorrow on one of my scheduled days off.
I took the dart from Hawkeye, and it was at least 5 times heavier than the scepter I usually carried around. Hawkeye noticed my hand fall abruptly.
"You got this," he said. "Just throw it the same way you normally would."
I blinked, stunned by his encouragement. Now I definitely couldn't let him down.
I held my arms out, one in front of me with my palm splayed, like Moana when she's counting stars. The other, my right arm, made an acute angle as it held the arrow by the side of my head. I threw my whole weight into launching that arrow, and it paid off, piercing the dart board right in the green area surrounding the bull's eye.
"Now that's more like it!" Hawkeye shouted, clapping twice. "I knew you had it in you."
"Thank you...?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to see. You've just bought us a lunch break." He signaled something to Natasha, who was the only one out of the rest of the PSA who understood ASL.
"Alright, team. Take a break. An hour tops." Natasha ordered.
"Thank Christ," I heard Tony say. "My arm is starting to ache."
"I could get some ice for that." Chris suggested.
"No offense, Cap, but I believe you and ice would be a dangerous mixture." Tony responded, quick as lightening.
"I was trying to be helpful, Tony. What do you want me to grab, gauze?"
"Or we could, you know, grab lunch."

Surprised, Chris did a full 180-degree swivel to get a better look at Tony.
"Are you asking me on a date, Tony?"
"I don't know. Would you like it to be one?" Tony tossed one of the darts into the air with his left hand and fired a repulser beam with his right hand, sending the dart straight into the target with a satisfying "thunk". A perfect shot.
"That would be nice, yeah." Chris said quietly.
Tony smacked Chris's shoulder. "Then let's go, Cap. Our job doesn't allow for much quality time outside of fighting each-other."
"Or fighting side-by-side," Chris reminded him. "I like those moments best."
"Me too, Cap," he replied. Even with his helmet permanently in place over his face, Tony's voice oozed charisma and authenticity. Then he shouted, "Hey, does anyone know if She keeps shwarma in her fridge? Chris and I are going on a lunch break."
"Afraid not, boys. But you two have fun," Natasha winked their way. "Not too much fun, if you know what I mean."
Chris laughed loudly and awkwardly as he and Tony walked side-by-side up the stairs. Hawkeye watched them almost sorrowfully, then his head bowed and he focused on Natasha again. Natasha herself turned and shrugged at no one in particular. "What? I had to say something."
"Don't worry, Nat, we know. We know," Said Rhodey, his gun shrinking back into his suit. "I'm going out for some fresh air if anyone wants to join me."
"I shall come." Thor said, raising Mjolnir.
"Wanda? Would you like to take a walk?" I asked, approaching her. Wanda pulled her arms back, ceasing her magic and letting the dart she had been levitating to drop. She didn't seem herself today; maybe she could use a friend.
Wanda sighed. "Sorry, Loki. I'm... I'm not in the mood."
Ah, okay. A long time ago, Wanda and I had created this particular code phrase for when she was experiencing a bout of dyphoria. Wanda was genderfluid, and sometimes she would love nothing more than to be Wanda, and other days, she'd much rather be someone else. With She's help and research, we had diagnosed Wanda, but unlike humans, there was really nothing we could do for her.

I nudged her arm gently. "I'm sorry. Things will get better, I promise."
Wanda smiled, but only on one side of her face, without that smile reaching her eyes. "Thanks."
"Let me know if you need anyone."
Wanda nodded. "I will."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Hawkeye sign something to Natasha, who responded with some hand signals of her own and went off to join Rhodey and Thor. Suddenly, he started staring at me, in that awkward "I've been caught" moment. "Loki," I called, his voice tense. "I need to talk to you."
"Uh-oh, someone's getting fired." Wanda joked solemnly.
"He can't fire me," I stated, breaking away from Wanda and running over to Hawkeye. He couldn't fire me, could he? "Yes?"
Hawkeye nodded his head to the side, as if I was supposed to follow his motion and look at something that never appeared. "I want you to come walk with me today. There's something I've figured out, and it involves you."
Had I had heart, it would have skipped a beat. "How so?"
"Follow me upstairs. There's more ground to cover there."
I did. We passed the backdoor, and with it being made of glass, we could see Rhodey, Chris, and Natasha outside. All of them were completely oblivious as to what was going on behind them; maybe only Natasha knew with the way she was acting.
"This feels private enough," Hawkeye finally said as we entered the hallway. "Firstly, I want you to start calling me Clint."
I laughed shortly. "That's it? That's the big news?"
"Oh, there is bigger news," said Hawkeye-now-Clint. "But Nat made me realize something lately. There's no need for code names when there's no one to fight. So call me Clint."
"If there's no one to fight, then why are we training?"

Clint whipped off his glasses. It was the first time I had ever seen his eyes, and I had known him for years now. His eyes in themselves were brown, but the wrinkles, dark spots and puffiness that surrounded them were more remarkable. He looked old, tired, and lost. Not exactly the kind of vibes you wanted to get from a leader of heroes. "We're not training for a fight. There are no enemies and there are no obstacles. There is only this." Clint pointed to my scepter, which I had been carrying by my side.
"What?" I always thought Clint hated my scepter, as it reminded him of the time my character had possessed his.
"That's an infinity stone in there. And in Vision, too."
"How do you know?" He had to be kidding. Whenever I first joined the PSA, I knew two things to be true. One, Clint was Hawkeye, and we weren't to call him by any other name unless you were Wanda. And two, the infinity stones weren't real, but the PSA was still tasked with finding them. It was a wild goose chase, but at least it was still something to do. I had always thought the imaginary goal gave us a purpose, an excuse to do what we did.
Now I didn't know what to believe.
"They're real, Loki. I know they are. They exist in our world of dolls, and it is our duty to that world to collect them and keep them safe."
"That's all? We don't plan on doing anything with them?"
Clint laughed softly. I had never heard him laugh, either. "Of course you would want to. No, there is a reason for this besides protecting their power. But it's a long story."
"I've got time."
"It's a sad one, too. Better buckle up."
I nodded, fully prepared.
"The Pocket-Sized Avengers started before we came here, to this house. We were a team formed in a warehouse, and we all made a vow to never be separated, no matter which human bought us. Back then, it was me, Wanda, Chris, Tony, Thor, Vision, Rhodey... and Nat."

"But this isn't the same Nat-"
"You're right. It isn't. She wasn't. But back then, there was another Nat. She looked exactly the same as the one we have now, but with a tattoo of the Avengers logo on her right wrist. I have the same one, because we had done that together, as something to match, as something to... substitute an engagement bracelet."
I inhaled. Oh.
"I was married to this other Nat. We had a private wedding in the warehouse done by somebody there who we knew could keep a secret. We told the rest of the PSA, but that was it. Nat and I both knew that relationships are dangerous things once you become a hero. Little did we know how real that was. And the worst did happen."
"You got separated from Nat."
Clint gulped and slid his glasses back on. "I did. But not before watching her die."
I wasn't sure what to say. Clint didn't either. I let the silence linger, as a way to respect this deceased Natasha he once knew.
"I won't say what killed her. It brings back too many bad memories."
"I understand."
"But I will say this. I believe that her death can be undone with the power of the infinity stones. That's why we train every day. There is no villain. There is no challenge. There is only the slightest chance, that, by being the best at everything we could ever be, one day we might have them all," Clint wiped the area underneath his eyes. "The only problem is, well, you know, besides all the other problems, is that we don't have anyone strong enough to wield a gauntlet once we collect all the stones. Everyone in the PSA is too small, and any human would be killed instantly just by putting it on," Clint exhaled and straightened his posture. We had made our way around the house's lower level twice, and he was done talking. "I just wish there was someone out there who could help us. Someone who actually knew what they were doing."

"If I'm honest, Clint... the PSA already believes in you with everything they have in them. If you hadn't told me all of this just now, I would have thought you knew what you were doing."
Clint laughed again. "If only that were true, Loki. Listen. I know I haven't been fair to you. I know I haven't been treating you with as much respect as everyone else. But I'm tired of holding a grudge over something that you never did to me. We need you here on this team." Clint said, and meant it.
"Thank you, Clint." I said. And I meant that, too.
"Sorry to steal so much of your time. You can go ahead and take your own break now."
"Alright. And, Clint?"
Clint, who had been nearly sprinting to try and make it outside to find the other, turned on his heel and stopped. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about Nat."
Clint smiled at me, but it his lips were quivering. "It's okay. We cherish the ones we love while we have them, right?" He went back to running and I could see his hand pass over his face again.
Well, after that conversation, I would certainly need some time to myself to process everything. I went up the stairs slowly, on my way to the Room She Lives In. She wasn't there right now, but there were always more pages of her writing to collect.
I found Steve up there already, and the two of us caught eyes and regarded each-other as strangers on the street. Strangers who could have sworn they'd seen each-other before, maybe in a dream, but no one dared say a word to other.
Steve wasn't about to let that happen.
"Loki. How's it going?"
"Fine, you?"
"Can't complain, either."
Steve nodded and looked pleased. Then he said, "Come with me. Take a break for a while."

"I can't... really, I-"
"You can't, or you don't want to?" Steve asked. "We're your family, too, Loki. We like having you around. Dorothy made tea for the two of us."
"Why just us two?"
Steve shrugged. "Dorothy doesn't know any of the Avengers personally like She knows us. And she had to do something to celebrate Marvel month."
"Right," I shook my head, giving in and following Chris to the Room She Lives In. "Who came up with that idea, anyways? That May has to be Marvel month?"
"Oh, Elsa, probably. She's always doing stuff like that. Anyways, I need to get my shield before we go downstairs again. It's in She's room."
That reminded me, I hadn't spent nearly enough time around Steve to ask him how his marriage with Elsa was going. That was something a friend, even a family member, should do. "Steve, I've been meaning to ask y-"
"Woah, that's new." Steve interrupted me, although not intentionally. He stood frozen in the doorway to the Room She Lives In, just staring at something that was inside.
"What, what is it?" I caught up with him and pushed my way forward. Nothing was too terribly out of the ordinary, except a brown cardboard box that lay on She's bed.
"Why are we stopped in the doorway?" Said a voice behind us. Steve and I both jumped. "Heroic" reflexes, I guess.
It was only Pocahontas, looking more curious than annoyed.
"Pocahontas? What are you doing here?" Steve asked.
"She texted Elphaba and told her to have someone water her plants. So here I am," Pocahontas caught sight of the mysterious package. "What is that?"
The three of us entered the room, sort of expecting something to jump out at us. It was oddly quiet inside, unless it was only our collective paranoia. Steve took a super-solider-sized jump onto She's bed and scanned the package with a finger. "A new doll, if I had to guess."

"What makes you think that?" I asked, using one of the sheets as a rope to climb my way onto the bed.
"Look at the label next to the shipping address. A exclusive action figure from Madison, Wisconsin."
"Clever," I replied. I readied the sharp tip of my scepter to slice open the packaging tape. "Should we let them out or wait for She to come back home?"
"It looks like She's already gotten to it. Partially." Steve pointed to a little hole in the side of the box, which was shoddily torn and about the circumference of an adult human's finger.
"Why stop opening a doll halfway through?" Pocahontas observed, taking the watering can from the dresser's surface and refilling it with She's water glass from the night before.
"Maybe She didn't like what She saw." Steve said darkly.
I touched the package and peered through the hole. It was too dark to see anything- or anyone- inside. Maybe they already escaped? "I don't believe that. There's a reason for everything. But She wouldn't abandon a doll like that. She knows what She's doing." I backed away and shook my head. Geez, Wanda's philosophical mentality was really starting to rub off on me.
Steve gave in without any argument and agreed to set the doll free.
We were able to use my scepter as a pseudo-boxcutter and sliced through the packaging tape. From there, we parted the carboard flaps and cleaned out all the layers of crumbled brown paper.
We then saw the newest member to She's family of dolls.
The doll was female, about six inches tall, and held something invisible in her arms. She had a dark blonde bob that appeared windswept, even encased in yet another box. She wore a brown leather jacket, and the rest of her was clothed in an unusual suit: red and blue, with a shining gold star in the center of it all.
I gasped. "It's her!"
Steve nodded. "Captain Marvel."

The eyes of the doll that had previously been closed opened suddenly. "Woah... what's going on?" Her voice was higher than I had thought it would be, but it didn't make it any less powerful. "Oh hey, dolls! Who are you guys?"
"Captain Steve Rogers. Hello." Steve did a friendly little salute and moved to the side of the box to see if it would allow Captain Marvel to get out.
"Another Captain. Sweet," Captain Marvel saluted back. "I'm Carol Danvers. Where's the human?"
"She's out of the house right now. We thought She was going to open you, but never did." I pointed to the carved-out hole at the top of her box. It went all the way through to Carol.
"Oh, that? That wasn't the human. That was Goose."
"Goose?" Asked Steve.
"Yeah... he's about 'yay' big?" Carol made a circular motion with her hands, replacing the space that Goose once filled. "He clawed his way out as soon as the human set us down."
That was wonderful. In the most sarcastic way possible, at least.
"Don't worry, Carol, we're going to get you out of here." Said Steve.
"You don't have to help me, I can get myself out. Watch this!"
Carol smiled smugly, flexed her fingers into a fist, and punched the plastic sheet that separated her from us. It wobbled, disturbed but unbroken.
So she punched it again.
And again.
Pocahontas, who had been watching the whole thing without saying a word, finally spoke. "Should we be waiting for something?"
Carol sighed and pulled her hand back again. "Well, yeah! Yeah. I do have powers, I know I do. They just haven't been working for me recently. Or at all."
"That's okay, we won't be needing them to get you out." Steve beckoned at me, and I tossed him my scepter. He used the pointed end to cut the rest of the tape, then lifted the flap and tilted the box. Carol was free.

"Thanks, guys," she said, grinning once more, her failure quickly forgotten. I held out my hand to introduce myself, and she shook it, but before I could tell her my name, I was interrupted. "Now let's go find Goose!"
Carol slid off the end of She's bed and was halfway to the door without much of a clue as to where she was or where she was going. The three of us in the room looked at each-other and decided to follow after.
"You said we are looking for a goose?" Asked Pocahontas once we caught up. "I am familiar with geese. I can track their scent."
"No, no. Goose is a cat, isn't he?" Steve asked.
Carol's feet hit the bottom of the first stair. "Wrong and wrong. Goose is a flerken."
"A flerken?" Steve and Pocahontas said in unison, and looking just as confused as the other.
"Trust me. We won't want it to get out of sights for very long." I told them.
"This guy gets it," said Carol. "Loki, right? You go by Loki?"
I nodded, trying my hardest to keep up with their pace. Even with my PSA training basically on the daily, it was still difficult for me to remain even with two 12" dolls and now a 6" one.
"Funny, you don't seem like a Loki."
"That's what Wanda tells me." I muttered, not exactly intending for anyone to respond.
"Wanda... Wanda Maximoff? That's Scarlet Witch. Is she your girlfriend? Do you have other Marvel figures lying around in here?"
"You certainly speak a lot for someone who is concerned with finding their flerken." Steve cut in, saving me from saying anything else that might set Carol off.
"I'm sorry, I ramble when I'm nervous," Carol said unapologetically. "I'd say we should split up to find him, but we shouldn't Goose might have already eaten one of your friends."
"What?" Pocahontas gasped. "Is that what a flerken does?"
"If he is hungry, yes. He might."

"But... but he shouldn't be hungry. Dolls can't eat. We should be safe."
Carol shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Goose is a bit of a freak."
"You're telling me!" Steve cried. "This is not how I intended to start my day."
"Well, no one did, Captain," Carol sighed. "If I had my powers, things would be a lot easier. I don't know what happened to them. Granted, I've never really experienced them before, but I'm Captain Marvel. I've got to have powers. Oh well, whatever. I can rant about that later. I just don't th-"
"Wait! Do you hear meowing?" Pocahontas had stopped in her tracks, and all of us did with her. She knelt to the ground and brushed it with her fingertips, as if she could sense the vibration of the noise through the floorboards. And maybe she could. "Yes. Cat noises, due northwest. In the kitchen, I think? You did say he could be hungry."
"Agh, of course he is. Thanks."
Carol finished with the stairs, jogged into the living room, then stumbled slightly when turning the corner Steve and I looked at each other, unsure of what to make of this new hero. Her running was at an average pace compared to most dolls, and she ran awkwardly at that, leaning towards the right a little and pumping one arm faster than the other. Oh well. Find the flerken now, judge the owner of said flerken later.
"Goose! Goosey boy! Where you at, buddy?" Carol called, already with a slight whisper of exhaustion in her voice.
There was a soft murmur of a meow in reply.
Carol's eyes wandered upwards, widening in shock as she spotted a very orange, very cat-like flerken doll perched on the top of the fridge. "Goose! C'mere, you fluffy idiot!" Carol patted her collarbone with her hands and stretched out her hands to catch him. As if any sensible creature would jump down from that high. "You better not be digesting anything up there!"
"Or anyone," Steve cringed. "Loki, can you climb up there and get him?"

"No." Everyone knew me to be a pretty good climber, but with that also came my fear of heights. besides, there was no way I was touching that thing.
"I could fly," Carol griped. "Or I'm supposed to be able to. I just don't know why my powers aren't working!"
"Loki is not the only one around here that can climb," Pocahontas injected. "I can get him for you."
Carol laughed somewhat unhappily as Pocahontas paced up the side of the fridge in the same way she would a tree trunk. "Boy, do I love feeling useless."
Pocahontas made it to the top and approached Goose hesitantly. "He appears to be ill."
"Dolls don't get sick." I reminded her. And sure, there was a lot of things that dolls didn't do, but I felt as though Goose was our new exception.
"No, this is different." Pocahontas said, just as Goose's back arched and he started coughing. Pocahontas slapped him under the neck and the object dislodged itself from his throat in a true display of horror.
By Odin's beard, the thing had swallowed in an entire human-sized teacup without anything to show of it. I felt like retching.
"It won't happen again if we get some duct tape." Steve said nervously.
Pocahontas wouldn't hear of it. "He is still a living thing! Goose only needs a little training. See?" Pocahontas brought a finger to her lips to shush Goose, then brought it slowly down from her face to touch Goose's mouth. I thought for sure she was a goner, but the flerken only yawned and looked lazily around at his new home.
"How did you do that?" Carol asked, incredulous.
"Animals understand me," Pocahontas replied. She pushed him under her arm and climbed down the fridge. "Here is your fl- your flairking." Pocahontas passed Goose off to Carol, who settled in Carol's arms like it was the most comfortable cat bed.
"Aw, you've soothed the beast! Thanks a million... hey, what's your name?"

"Pocahontas. I'm a Disney doll. You might not know me."
"I don't know a lot of things." Carol said.
"Come with us, then. We can show you the house and our friends."
Carol agreed, and the three of us began with a tour I felt as though I'd given a thousand times before. The whole time Carol couldn't stop talking about her lost powers, and how they must have burnt out on her, even though it was clear she'd never used them before. At least Goose was well behaved now. Whatever Pocahontas did to him must have been miraculous for a ravenous teacup-swallowing flerken to nap soundly in his owner's arms.
We had only made it to a few rooms on the house's first floor whenever I heard a whole chorus of feet surrounding the basement stairs. Clint's voice followed, telling everyone that the break was over it was time to train again. Surely it hadn't been an hour already!
But it had been. The PSA ran into us just as they were headed downstairs, and all of them paused at the sight of Carol. Jocasta, who had apparently returned from her day out with Jonas, folded her arms across her chest. Wanda gasped. Chris and Tony exchanged an awkward laugh. Clint peered over the top of his glasses at me, and suddenly, I knew.
This was the one we had been looking for.
The one who would find and wield all six infinity stones.
And she was hopeless.

-Loki