history « avengers

seven.nine

ALTHOUGH the loss of Lorelei and Natasha was horrible, the show must go on. Wren and Scott found themselves in the lab with most of the other Avengers while Aurora was crying in another room.

"I am sorry for your loss. If that had been Steve I do not think I could go on," Wren whispered, unable to make her voice louder. Scott frowned, tear stains on his cheeks.

"I was so mad at her for not telling me she was from the future, for lying to me. Now she's gone and the last conversation we had was a fight. I never got to apologize," he mumbled, turning his attention to the newly finished gauntlet. Everyone was gathered around it, everyone but Aurora and Nebula.

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

"I'll do it," Thor volunteered.

"Excuse me?"

"It's okay."

"No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey..." Everyone said together, holding up Thor. No one believed he was in a well enough state to snap his finger.

"Wait, wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?"

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

"Look, us 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 explained.

"That is false," Wren said at the same time Tony spoke up.

"It's not that..."

"It's... stop it! Just let me. Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something great," Thor said, tearing up.

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

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

"Cheez Whiz?"

"Lightning."

"Yeah."

"Lightning won't help you, pal," Bruce started before Wren interrupted him.

"I should do it." Steve's eyes widened. "From what happened to Thanos when he did it, only two of us in this room could handle the impact and are emotionally able to do it. It has to be Bruce or myself."

"Wren, no, I don't want you to do this," Steve said, taking the Harum's hands in his own. "Sweetheart, please."

"She's right Steve, it has to be her or me," Bruce said, "none of you could survive that."

"How do we know you will?" Steve asked, glancing from Wren to Bruce and back again.

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

"No Bruce, you were not made for this. I will do it and that is the final decision. As Princess of Harum, my home planet, I was gifted powers from those above, two of those powers being super-strength and near-invincibility. I can and will survive this."

"Wren, please," Steve begged one last time, cupping her face with his hands.

"I have to do this Steve, for Natasha, for Lorelei, for Zaria," she said, whispering softly. Pecking Steve's lips quickly, Wren made her way towards the gauntlet.