Frostbite

Eleven

"It's not about that-" Tony began to explain but was interrupted by Thor's aggressive shushing.

"Stop it! Just let me!" he begged, his eyes tearing up, "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."

The pain in his voice tugged at my heart, but it couldn't be him. He wasn't prepared for it. He just desperately wanted to fix everything, like that would make his depression disappear.

Tony held his hands, staying calm as he spoke, "Look- It's not just the fact that the 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?" Thor challenged, refusing to let it go.

"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey quipped from behind. They all had poked fun at him, not realizing how deep in his spiral he actually was. He didn't deserve it; he deserved our support.

I narrowed my eyes at Rhodey and snapped, "Cut it out."

"Lightning," Thor finished, pointing promisingly at Rhodey for his comment.

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me," Bruce sighed, biting his lip as he stepped forward. Thor and Tony broke apart as they listened to Bruce. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."

"How do we know you will?" Steve replied, turning to face him.

"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma," he paused as he stared at the gauntlet, "It's like... I was made for this."

Everyone agreed to let Bruce do it. He was the most logical way to go. If it turned out he couldn't do it... then I'd be the backup. I was the only other person other than Thor with magic. It made more sense than anyone else; it was possible my magic would save me despite my small stature compared to Thanos and Bruce.

Once Bruce picked up the gauntlet Tony backed up a bit and said, "Good to go, yeah?"

"Let's do it," he agreed.

"Okay, 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."

"Got it."

Tony tapped his reactor, his nano suit materializing and encasing his body. He held up a transparent shield in front of Clint and him. Thor stepped in front of Rocket, shielding him in case something happened and Scott and Rhodey closed their helmets. Steve held up his shield, but I stepped in front of him as I brought my fists together, creating a larger mandala shield in front of us. He gave me a wry look but approved.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol. Will you?" Tony ordered the A.I.

"Yes, boss," she responded. Metal doors and latches began covering every window and doorway there was until we were locked in our current room. It was a smart precaution.

"Everybody comes home," Bruce murmured, with a last look around the room.

He put the gauntlet on which nanobotically expanded to fit his hand. The stones surged brightly, streaking up his hand and then his arm as he struggled to keep it from overwhelming him.

"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor cried in fear for our friend.

"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" Steve inquired, holding up a hand to stop Thor from interfering. Bruce continued to groan in pain, clutching his hand as he struggled.

"Bruce?" I called.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Thor nodded in relief, giving a double thumbs up. Bruce screamed out in pain as he brought his fingers together and with a final push, he snapped his fingers. His eyes rolled back as he fainted, falling to the floor.

I dashed forward, staring at his singed arm in horror. I pulled water from across the room and tried healing his arm, but it wasn't working. The stones were resistant to my magic.

"Don't move him," Tony ordered, dropping next to me. I huffed in frustration, shaking my head. I shot back to my feet and quickly got out of the way.

"It's not working."

"I got it. I got it," Tony said, spraying his arm with some form of liquid that encased it entirely. Had it even worked? Would everyone just come back where they had been snapped?

I approached Scott as he wandered to the window to peer outside as the lockdown lifted. Someone's phone rang, but I ignored it. We stood side by side, watching the odd influx of birds outside the window.

"Oh my god," I whispered. Scott and I exchanged wide smiles of excitement.

"Guys– I think it worked!" he called, catching their attention. But something in the sky caught mine. When I realized what it was, it was already too late.

"Move!" I screamed, shoving Scott away from the window and attempting to open a portal. The others caught on too late as well. Steve tried to scramble over to me, but just as I got the portal open, an explosion rocked the entire building. There was only dust and darkness.