AURORA ODINSDOTTIR
I opened my eyes, and realised I was standing back on the Quantum Platform in the Avengers Compound.
I felt a hand grab mine, and I smiled at Steve, who rubbed circled into my hand with his thumb.
"I'm so glad you're okay." He said, making me smile brightly at my fiance.
"I'm glad you're okay, too."
"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked, and I held the reality stone in my hands, smiling at Thor, who seemed a lot happier.
It probably helped him a lot to see our mother.
"You telling me this'll actually work?" Rhodey asked, but I looked around, noticing someone was missing.
Oh no.
"Nat, where's Clint?" I asked, but she stayed silent, a tear slowly slipping down her cheek.
Everyone stood in silence, not knowing how to process that Barton didn't make it, and I sat on the ground, not trusting my legs to keep me up.
Steve crouched next to me, holding his arms around me while I motioned for Nat to come to me, seeing her start to sob.
I pulled her in for a tight hug, rubbing soothing circles into her back while we cried, and everyone stood in a respectful silence.
Clint was gone.
•••
Steve, Thor, Bruce, Nat, Tony and I sat outside, silently mourning Clint while we cried, until Tony spoke up.
"Do we know if anyone told Clint's family yet?"
"I don't think so." Steve said, and my brother looked confused.
"What?"
"Steve just asked Tony a question." I said to Thor, who shook his head, walking over to me.
"Yeah, you're acting like he's dead." He said, looking at all of us.
"Why are we acting like he's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring him back, isn't that right?" He said, looking annoyed.
He's in denial.
"So stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."
"We can't get him back." Nat said, speaking up for the first time in a while.
"Wha- what?" My brother stuttered out, and Nat turned to look at him.
"It can't be undone. It can't."
"I'm sorry, no offense, but you're a very earthly being, okay?" Thor shot back, gesturing between himself and I.
"We are space beings, and we're talking about space magic. 'Can't' seems very definitive don't you think?"
"Yeah, look Thor, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here, but Barton still isn't here, is he?" Nat asked, making a tear slip as Steve gently squeezed my thigh.
"No, that's my point-"
"It can't be undone, or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say." Nat sighed, then raised her voice.
"Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, you go fly and you talk to him."
We fell silent again, letting Nat process her grief, before she cleared her throat.
"It was supposed to be me. He sacrificed his life for that goddamn stone. He bet his life on it."
Bruce grabbed the bench next to him, hurling it straight across the lake, not being able to process his anger.
He turned to look at us, and I could tell he'd been crying.
"He's not coming back. We have to make it worth it."
"We have to." I whispered, and Steve nodded.
"We will."
After walking into the Avenger's lab, we stood back and watched while Tony, Bruce and Rocket assembled the glove.
Tony carefully place the stones into the gauntlet, using thin metal arms at a safe distance, and we waited in anticipation.
Once five out of six Infinity Stones had been placed, Steve carefully pushed me behind him, making sure to do it politely so I knew he was only doing it to keep me safe.
"You're sweet, my love." I whispered, quickly holding his hand in mine, and he leaned back, kissing my temple before watching Tony.
Tony put the last stone in, and everything fell silent.
"Boom!"
Everyone jumped three feet in the air, and I looked around to make sure nothing was on fire or broken, before calming down once I figured out the culprit.
Rocket, laughing to himself.
"Oh my god." I mumbled, and Tony gently shoved Rocket as we moved to the main room of the compound.
"Alright, the glove's ready. Now the question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked, and my brother clapped his hands, moving quickly towards the gauntlet.
"I'll do it."
"Excuse me?" Scott asked, and I jumped into action.
"Brother, no."
"It's okay." He said, but I shook my head.
"No, it's not."
"No, no, no, whoa. Stop." Rhodey interfered, and Tony joined in.
"Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey-"
"Wait, wait, Thor, just wait." Steve stepped in, placing his hands on Thor's shoulders.
"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?" My brother scoffed and I sighed.
"No, we haven't even talked about it yet and you're jumping in." I said, and Scott nodded in agreement.
"We should at least discuss it."
"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back." Thor argued, looking directly at me, hoping I would agree with him.
"I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me." He said, pleading with me.
"It's my duty."
"No it's not, brother."
"It's not about that-" Tony butted in, making Thor look at him.
"It's not that- Stop it! Just let me!" He exclaimed, starting to tear up, and I pulled him in for a hug while he cried.
"Just let me do it, just let me do something good. Something right."
"I'm sorry, Thor." I whispered, and Tony pat him gently on the shoulder.
"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?" My brother asked, pulling away from our hug, and Rhodey shrugged.
"Denial?"
"Oh, god." I mumbled under my breath, and Thor shook his head, pointing at Rhodey.
"Lightning."
"Yeah, I know." Tony said, and Bruce piped up after staring at the gauntlet for a while.
"Lightning won't help you, pal." He said, and I looked over at him.
"It's gotta be me."
I softly grabbed Thor's bicep, pulling him over to Steve, and I watched my fiance comfort him.
"You saw what those stones did to Thanos." Bruce said, making me sigh.
"They almost killed him, none of you could survive if you snapped your fingers."
"How do we know you will?" Steve asked, and Bruce shrugged.
"We don't, but the radiation's mostly gamma." He said, looking down at the gauntlet again.
"It's like I was made for this."
"Good to go then, yeah?" Tony asked, and Bruce nodded.
"Yeah, let's do it."
"Great." I smiled, taking a step back, and Tony nodded.
"You remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you're just bringing them back to now, today." He said, trying to making sure his daughter would stay.
"Don't change anything from the last five years."
"Got it." Bruce nodded, and I watched everyone suit up and grab what they needed to stay protected.
"Friday, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol, will you?" Tony asked, and Friday complied, shutting the facility into lockdown.
"Everybody comes home." Bruce whispered to himself, and Steve grabbed my hand, pulling me behind his shield and wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Takes you back, huh?" I whispered, and he chuckled, remembering the first time he did this.
"Yeah, it does."
"If this doesn't work, or if anything happens-" I started, but Steve cut me off.
"Everything is going to work out."
"If anything happens, I love you." I finished, making Steve sigh.
"I love you, too."
We watched Bruce put on the gauntlet, which shifted to fit his large hand, and he grunted in pain from the power surge.
"Take it off! Take it off!" Thor exclaimed, but Steve shook his head.
"No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?" He asked, but we didn't get a response.
"Talk to me, Banner." Tony ordered, and Bruce slowly nodded.
"I'm okay! I'm okay."
He fought through the pain, and finally managed to snap his fingers, fainting immediately after.
"Bruce!" I exclaimed, and Nat kicked the gauntlet away as we ran towards him.
"Don't move him." Tony ordered, and Bruce woke up, grabbing onto Steve.
"Did it work?"
"It's worth a shot. It's over, it's okay." Thor said, and I noticed Scott walk out the room.
"Guys, I think it worked!" Scott exclaimed, and for a split second, I was excited.
I looked at Steve, pulling him in for a hug.
"We did it." I whispered, and he gave me a smile, before it quickly disappeared.
The last thing I saw was Steve's worried expression before the ground collapsed beneath me, and I fell through the floor.