𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 ➳ 𝙥𝙟𝙤 // 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

xx

Back in the present, barely a second had passed before everyone appeared right back on the platform, appearing suddenly as they exited the quantum realm.

They looked around at each other, not daring to speak, in awe of what they had just pulled off.

Bruce had the Eye of Agamotto around his neck, looking relieved. Scott held Loki's scepter. Rhodey held the orb, Natasha standing next to him. Tony and Steve stood side by side, the briefcase containing the Tesseract in Tony's right hand. Thor and Rocket had the vial with the Aether. Nebula simply looked sour, even more than usual.

"Wait," Rhodey started in disbelief, "Are you telling me that actually worked?"

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked, worried. 

Clint dropped to his knees abruptly,  his face devoid of emotion. He stared at the floor, hanging his head. He opened his right fist, revealing the Soul Stone. It clattered to the floor.

"Clint!" Steve's eyes widened. "Are you okay?"

Clint looked up at him, eyes glassy and breathing hitched.

Bruce shook his head, realizing what Clint meant. 

"Clint, where's the kid?" he asked softly. "Where's Nico?"

Natasha sucked in a breath as she kneeled down to comfort Clint. 

No one said a word or moved a muscle. It was a silent explanation for what everyone had dreaded from the beginning.

Someone had died. 

And it was the kid.

— — — time skip sponsored by sad clint — — — 

Clint stared out at the lake, eyes rimmed with red. The whole team stood on the dock, solemn.

Steve, Tony, and Bruce stood by a bench on the dock, grieving quietly.

"Do we know if he had family?" Tony whispered.

"Yeah," Steve grimaced. "Clint. Even us, I mean, we could have been."

Thor turned around gruffly, his eyes watering. "Why are you doing that?" he growled.

Tony was taken aback. "I was just asking a question—"

Thor looked exasperated. "Why are we talking about him as if he's dead? We have the stones. We can bring him back. Come on, stop this shit."

Clint choked on a sob, blinking back tears.

"We can't get him back," he said hoarsely.

Thor snorted. "What is he talking about? Of course we can."

Clint turned to Thor. "It can't," he repeated, "be undone. That's why."

"No offense, but you're... a very earthly being. We're talking about space magic here. 'Can't' seems a little definitive, don't you think?" Thor scratched his beard, deep in denial.

"Well, I know I'm a little outside my pay grade here, but, he still isn't here, is he?" Clint snapped.

"That's my point—" Thor tried.

"It can't be undone. At least, that's what the little red floating guy said. But why don't you go talk to him, okay?  Why don't you go grab your hammer and fly to that place and you can talk to him. It can't be undone," Clint closed his eyes. "It was supposed to be me. He sacrificed his life for that goddamn stone. He bet his life on it!"

Bruce hurled the bench into the water, letting out a frustrated yell.

Then he sighed. "He's not coming back. And I know we didn't know him long but it was long enough that he felt like one of us. We have to make it worth it. We have to."