FOR THE ONES WE LOST
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ
One Shot- Alan Silvestri
0:01 ─●──────── 2:03
◁ II ▷
"Hey," A very familiar voice calls out, his voice making her heart swell with warmth.
"What are you up to?" He asks, making his way behind her to try to take a closer look at her notes, the girl blinking in surprise when she sees his figure out of the corner of her eyes.
"Pete?" She hesitantly calls out, the boy smiling in response.
"I heard you were having trouble with your project so I came to check on you," he says, leaning his hands on the desk.
The girl doesn't respond to that, instead pulling him into a tight hug, feeling immediate relief when he wraps his arms around her as well.
"Hey," he says, softening his tone, gently patting her back, "what's up?"
"Nothing," She says, pursing her lips. "It's just good to see you," she adds looking away from him.
Realization dawns on her as she looks back at him.
"Wait...this is a dream isn't it?"
Peter just gives her a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes in response, confirming her thoughts.
How she wishes he were here.
"Here," Peter says, handing her a note, "you missed this earlier."
"Thanks," she says, taking it in her hands, "this is exactly what I needed! I can't believe I missed this," she adds, running a hand through her hair.
"What's wrong?" She asks when her friend whips his head up, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"Someone is calling you," he says, "it's time to wake up Ness."
"Wait, don't leave," she says, holding his hand, "please."
"Don't worry," he says, flashing her a quick smile, "we'll meet again soon. You got this."
"Now, go. They're calling for you."
"What?" She asks with a frown, jumping when she hears another voice.
"Hey," A soft voice calls out. "It's time to wake up."
"Pete?" She says, rubbing her eyes.
"Nope, not Pete." Tony says, his eyes softening at the mention of the boy's name, "it's just me."
"Oh, hi."
She must have fallen asleep.
"Come on, we're having a team meeting."
"Okay, I'll be there in a bit," she says pressing the palms of her hands to her eyes, ignoring the ache in her chest at his absence.
After jolting down a few notes, she rushes to the meeting room, muttering a small apology as she sits down.
"Now that everyone is here, let's brief everyone on what we know about the stones," Tony says, the screen displaying pictures of each stone along with their names and locations.
"We've all come into contact with the stones at one time or another," Steve says, "or nearly been killed by them," Tony adds.
"Yes, or nearly been killed by them, so now we have to figure it out a way to collect all the stones."
"We don't have a lot of pym particles left so we have to chose our shots carefully."
After the presentation, the team sits together in silence, faces pensive as they process the information.
"If I may," Vanessa says, raising her hand, "could I make an observation?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"We all know that time travel can get very complicated, and we want to avoid changing anything right?"
"Right. So what do you propose?" Tony asks. She explains the plan.
"Traveling back to before Thanos uses the stones to destroy the stones," She says.
"I know it's risky and Thanos would be in full power and strength, but we could get all the stones in one sweep, plus the gauntlet," she adds.
"Do we need the gauntlet?"
"Preferably," she answers, "it was made to hold the power of all six infinity stones with an indestructible metal called Uru."
"Lady Nessa is right," Thor says, adding to her statement, "The gauntlet was forged by Eitri in Nidavellir, a forge specialized in making weapons of the very best kind. No human invention can compare to it."
After exchanging a brief glance, Steve and Tony nod their heads.
"It's worth a shot," Steve says.
"So, who's going?"
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
"We're here," Steve announces, the trio taking their places as they approach the house.
"Last time I couldn't interfere in order for a bigger threat not to happen ahead of time ," Vanessa says, "but this time, there is no rule that says how we have to go about it now that it has been done."
"So, who's going to knock on his front door?" She asks, looking at them from over her shoulder.
"I'll do it," Thor says, his grip on Stormbreaker tightening.
"Have at it."
Without wasting another second, Thor launches himself at the door, smashing it to pieces in the process, the girl using the distraction to close in on their target.
Once spotted, Thor launches himself against Thanos, the Titan laughing in surprise when Thor holds his ax against his chest.
"Did you learn nothing from our last encounter Asgardian?" He asks.
"Oh no, I did," Thor says pressing the ax farther down, "but we're here for one thing only and that is not your head."
While Thor has him distracted, the girl sneaks up behind him, putting her strength into her leg as she kicks down the back of the Titan's knee, bringing down to the floor, the action giving her the opportunity to do what she needs to do.
In one swift move, the girl hangs onto the Titan's shoulders, practicing the new move she had been trying to master for a while now, letting out a breath of relief when she feels it work.
"Now!" She says, Steve wrapping his arms around the Titan's neck as he appears from behind him through a portal, the girl finally coming into view next to Thor.
"You," Thanos says, looking at her.
"Hi," she says, waving her fingers at him, "remember me?"
"Why are you here?"
"We just came to get something," she says, nodding to Thor.
Thanos was not expecting them.
That gives them the upper hand.
"I thought you'd understand," he says, clearly disappointed.
"We do understand," she says, "but we didn't ask for your help."
"There are other ways of doing things, other solutions, you just happened to take the easy way out."
"You ungrateful beings," Thanos mutters under his breath, grunting when the Captain tightens his grip on him.
"I got the gauntlet," Thor announces.
"Good," Steve says, "let's get out of here."
"This is not the end. You will pay for this terrans."
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Anxious faces await their arrival, immediately standing up when the trio appears on the platform.
"Did you get it?"
"We got the stones, and the gauntlet."
"Good. Let's hope this works."
"You might want to put up the shields as the barrier," Vanessa suggests, "he is going to come after us."
"Right. FRIDAY, activate 'Barn Door' Protocol and activate the barriers outside."
"On it boss."
"Who's going to snap their freakin' fingers?" Rocket asks.
"I'll do it," Thor says, his face determined as he takes a step forward.
"Hold on bud. Let's just think about it for a second," Tony says.
"We might not have a second, I am stronger than everyone here and I have electricity coursing through my veins."
"It's not the same thing," Tony says placing a hand on his shoulder.
"The radiation is mostly gamma," Bruce says, "it has to be me, I'll do it."
"Are we all in agreement?" Steve asks.
"I don't think we really have a choice," Natasha says.
"Bruce wait," Vanessa says, holding onto his arm, "It's still too much energy."
"So what do you suggest?"
"First, wear the uniform I designed," she says, handing it to him, "second, let me try something."
"I might be able to absorb or at least redirect some of the energy," she explains.
"Vanessa, are you sure?" Steve asks.
"I'm sure," she says, "I've been working on it, it's worth a shot."
"If you're sure about it..." he says, though he is not fond of the idea. "But if things go south we are pulling you out."
"Let's go then," Bruce says, already changed into the special uniform as he steps in front of her.
With a nod, the girl steps on a stool and holds on to his upper arms.
"Okay, ready? On the count of three," she says.
"1, 2, 3..."
The team holds their breath as Bruce places the gauntlet on, bright lights shining in the room as the energy of the stones flows through him, making both parties grunt at the energy surge.
It's powerful, but they can do it.
"Argh!" Bruce cries out, the girl tightening her grip on him.
Focus. Focus. Focus. You can do this.
Suddenly, the energy dies down, Bruce holding on to his weakened arm as he falls backwards, the girl falling to her knees.
"Bruce! Are you okay?" Tony asks, doing a quick scan of his body, Bruce grunting when he tries to move his arm.
"There is some damage but nothing we can't take care of," Tony says, the team feeling relieved. "We'll do a thorough check up later. For now let's take care of his arm, but try not to move him too much."
"Vanessa?" He calls out turning to the girl.
"I'm alright."
"Did it work?" Bruce asks.
"We don't know yet," Thor answers, "but it's okay."
"How do we know if it worked?"
Before anyone can answer, the building shakes violently, bringing everyone to the floor.
"What was that?"
"Looks like Thanos is here."
Okay, so as a bit of an explanation for this chapter: things happened differently than how they did in the movie. The time skip isn't the same amount of time, and Thor didn't lose Loki, so he is not exactly the way we saw him in the movie. Also, he didn't go for the head, meaning that the mad Titan is still alive and coming for them. I hope it makes sense ^^;
The next chapter will contain SPOILERS for Avengers Endgame so if you haven't seen it, don't click on the video for the music please. Also, I should mention that we are nearing the ENDGAME, in other words, 'Out of this World' only has a few chapter left. Thank you for reading!
~Van
(July 31, 2022)