MAGIC TRICKS [PETER PARKER]

THIRTY-EIGHT

Thor glared, his eyes icy like lightning. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

"We should at least discuss it," Scott offered from next to Clint.

"Look, sitting here staring at this thing is not going to bring everybody back," Thor explained, his eyes getting watery, "I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."

Without hesitation, Stark put out a hand to stop him from reaching for the glove again. "It's not that—"

"It's— Stop it!" Thor hollered, fighting against their reasoning. "Just let me..." Tears began to pool in his eyes and he lowered his voice. "Just let me do something good. Let me do something great."

Tony's gaze softened and Nadia watched the gentle way he dealt with his friend. "Look, it's not the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you you're in no condition."

Thor gripped the lapels of Tony's shirt. "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" he asked, gritting his teeth determinedly.

"Cheese Whiz?"

Thor ignored Rhodey. "Lightning." Tony stared at him. "Yeah—"

"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me."

Everyone turned to Bruce, who wore a scared but knowing expression. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive." He started walking towards the gauntlet. Nadia felt her heart pang at the hopelessness written on his face.

"How do we know you will?" she asked. He gave her a glance. "We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma..." Banner shook his head, trying to bring a smile on his face. "It's uh... It's like I was made for this."

No one said anything after that. They knew it was the only way. "Good to go then, yeah?" Tony asked, his voice tight. Bruce nodded. "Let's do it."

The Avengers suited up and got ready, rallying around the walls of the room and putting up their shields. "You remember," Tony emphasized, making it clear, "Everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years."

Nadia thought of Morgan. Of how happy Peter would be to discover Tony and Pepper finally got their happy ending, their own little family. "Got it," Bruce said.

"FRIDAY," Tony called to the AI, "Do me a favor and activate Protocol 8."

"Yes boss."

A metal wall descended over the windows, putting the facility under lockdown. Nadia planted her feet and created an energy shield, which she wrapped around Steve and Clint. She nodded at Steve, who raised his shield over the three of them as an extra precaution.

Bruce reached down, picking up the glove. The gauntlet reacted, resizing to fit on his hand. He cried out suddenly, as a surge of energy went through his body, and fell to his knees. "Take it off!" Thor yelled, "Take it off!"

"No, wait, Bruce, are you okay?" Steve asked, holding a hand out in front of Thor. "Talk to me, Banner," Tony tried, his voice metallic as if came from the suit.

Bruce grunted. "I'm okay, I'm okay."

Thor have his friend a double thumbs up, trying to hide his concern as Banner screamed in agony, struggling to even move his fingers. In one jagged movement, the clank of the metallic snap sounded and Bruce collapsed, the gauntlet sliding off of his arm. The Avengers immediately set into action, rolling over the big green hero. His arm was sizzling, severely burnt. "Don't move him," Tony said, spraying medicinal nanites over his burns.