The Prince and the Sol

Chapter 26

ELIZA'S POV

The time machine spits us out and sends me tumbling to the floor. I've never really been smooth with landings. Nat used to make fun of me for it. I wait for her laugh, but I hear Loki's voice instead.

"Are you okay?" Loki helps me up and I instantly wrap my arms around him. He hugs me tightly. I never want to let him go. He's here. He's safe.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" He nods. "Did you get the stone?" In response, he holds up a glowing green rock.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asks, sounding surprised. Everyone shows their stones. We actually did it. We did it. We can get everyone back.

"You're telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey looks shocked. We all survey each other, ecstatic, but our happiness quickly fades away.

Someone's missing. My grip on Loki tightens as the realization hits me.

Nat's missing.

"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asks. He's scared to even ask that question.

Clint doesn't say anything. Either he doesn't want to or he can't, but his expression says enough. His eyes have a dull, deadened look to them. Bruce falls to his knees, and no one says a single word. What do you even say? A few tears stream down my face. My best friend, my sister. Gone.

Memories flash through my mind. Our first mission in New Mexico. Watching movies in Stark Tower. Pranking Clint. When she told me to leave the compound when the whole issue with the Accords went down. How pretty she looked as my maid of honor. The pregnancy test she put in my purse, and how she stayed on the phone when I was scared out of my mind.

"See you in a minute."

Eventually, a smaller group of us migrate out by the lake to mourn. It's a beautiful day, with a shining sun and chirping birds. In reality, the day is one of the worst of my life.

"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asks, fiddling with a string on his shirt, refusing to meet any of our eyes.

"Yeah. Us." The tears streaming down Steve's face break my heart. I lay my head on his shoulder, simultaneously trying to comfort and be comforted. He puts an arm around me. I know my own face is red from hours of crying. I wish Loki was here, but I think Loki knew this wasn't really his grief. He left us to console each other and help the others work on the gauntlet plants inside. I'll talk to him later. I'll break down later.

"What?" Thor asks loudly. Tony seems taken aback.

"I just asked him a question..."

"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right? So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together!"

"We can't get her back." Clint's back is to us, and his voice is quiet. He's barely spoken at all since we returned.

"Wh-what?"

"It can't be undone," he says, shaking his head. "It can't."

"I'm sorry," Thor says. "No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay? We're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive don't you think?" He's only making this worse. I wish he would stop talking for once.

Clint's eyes flash. "Look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn't here, is she?"

"Now that's my point..."

"It can't... be undone. Or that's at least what the great floating guy had to say." Each word sounds heavy, laborious. As close as I was to Nat, Clint was closer. Then he starts to shout at Thor. "Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him!" Thor has nothing to say to this, of course. None of the rest of us had to watch a friend die today. No one else watched the person that knows them best give away their life in the hope to save everyone else.

"Clint," I whisper. He makes eye contact with me and his anger slowly fades into grief. If this doesn't work, he barely has anyone left.

"It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that stone. She bet her life on it." His voice breaks.

Bruce kicks a bench multiple times, each blow with increasing anger. For a moment I'm worried he's going to Hulk out. He's been relatively calm about this, good about controlling his emotions right now. But there's only so long he can go.

He looks at us all, heartbreak reflected plainly in his dark eyes. The only woman he ever loved is gone. The only one who truly understood him. "She's not coming back," he whispers. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."

Steve looks up at him. "We will," he says softly. I just nod.

NAT😭😭😭😭😭

Honestly, I remember crying so hard the entire scene with Natasha and Clint. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time when I saw it in theaters. It really was a testimony to their friendship that each of them were willing to sacrifice their life to save the other one. The acting was fantastic, and even though it was sad, I think it was one of the best scenes in Endgame.

I love Natasha so much. She proved that you could be feminine but tough, and that strength isn't always hiding your emotions. She's definitely one of my favorite Marvel characters. I'll keep waiting for the Black Widow movie, the last time we'll get to see her, which honestly breaks my heart. They kill all of the best ones.

Anyway, I got carried away with my sad rant. The rest of Endgame is coming up! Any predictions? Some things will definitely be different, but some will stay the same.