Everlasting • Tony Stark✔️

108 | snap

"We will," Pietro promised.

Inside the lab, Tony was carefully getting the new gaunlet ready by placing the stones into it. He nervously manipulated the machine to get them in correctly. He did not want to do anything to screw it up.

"Boom!" Rocket exclaimed as the last one was placed. Tony and Bruce jumped and glared at him.

When the gauntlet was ready, everyone gathered around it with anxious expressions. They all wore their suits, not know what would happen.

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked.

Thor stepped forward, eyes narrowed as he stared at the stones. "I'll do it."

"Excuse me?" Scott asked, almost with a laugh because they did not expect him to offer.

"No, I don't think—" Pietro started with a nervous smile.

Thor waved him off. "It's okay."

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey–" Everyone seemed to yell and hold him back when he tried to walk toward it.

Steve pushed him back with finality. "Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor mocked.

"We should at least discuss it," Scott said.

"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty," Thor said seriously.

"It's not about that—" Tony started.

"It's not that–Stop it! Just let me!" He began to tear up. "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."

Tony sighed. "Look–It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition."

"What do you–What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey asked.

"Lightning."

Tony nodded and patted his shoulder. "Yeah."

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me," Bruce said solemnly. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve asked.

Bruce shrugged. "We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma." He took a good look at the gauntlet. "It's like... I was made for this."

"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked after a moment. Bruce was nervously eyeing the gauntlet in fear.

"Let's do it."

"You remember–everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years," Tony said seriously, thinking of Charlotte. He was so scared this was not going to work.

"Got it."

Tony pressed his reactor to have the suit encase his body as they did not know what this would entail. "Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you?"

"Yes, boss."

The compound went on lockdown as Bruce said to himself, "Everybody comes home." Bruce put on the gauntlet, which nanobotically expanded to fit his hand. The power surge began to overwhelm him. He grunted in pain.

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor shouted worriedly.

"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" Steve asked.

"Talk to me, Banner," Tony called.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Bruce said quickly. He began to scream as he fought through the pain. He struggled to get his together, but Tony watched with sweat dripping down his brow as Bruce finally snapped his fingers. Bruce immediately fainted as the gauntlet slid off his arm where Clint kicked it away.

"Bruce!" Steve yelled.

Tony shook his head. "Don't move him."

Bruce grabbed Steve's arm. "Did it work?"

"Worth a shot. It's over. It's okay," Thor said softly, not thinking it worked.

Scott walked toward the outside window and saw plants and birds, more than before. Clint heard his phone ringing and saw that it was his wife calling. He almost tripped over thin air as he clicked the button to answer.

Clint gasped out, "Honey. Honey!?"

Tony's head snapped to Clint's, a smile ghosting onto his face.

"Guys–I think it worked!" Scott laughed.

Suddenly, multiple missiles hit the base at once. Tony cursed, tried to grab Pietro, but he watched him fall lower with Rocket. The grabbed each other's hands as they fell as to not lose each other in the rubble, but before Tony could go after them, a large pile of debris hit him, knocking him to the side. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head as Friday yelled for him to stay awake.