"Wow. Under different circumstances, this would be totally awesome." Clint says as we arrive in Vormir. I looked up at the beautiful purple sky in awe as we walked along the sandy dunes. As we started walking toward the mountain and climbing it, snow began to fall. I shivered and let out a few groans as we got closer to the top. Despite being athletic and in good shape, the voyage up the mountain is kicking my butt.
"I bet the raccoon didn't have to climb a mountain." Natasha groaned once we made it to the top of the mountain.
"Technically, he's not a raccoon, you know?" Clint says.
"Oh, whatever, he eats garbage," Natasha says, making me laugh.
"Welcome." An ominous voice says.
Natasha and Clint immediately drew out their weapons while my eyes and hands began to glow blue as we turned around. We see a hooded figure floating in front of us. "Natasha. Daughter of Ivan. Kaitlyn. Daughter of Ego. Clint. Son of Edith." I looked at Clint and Natasha when the hooded figure said my father's name, and a shocked expression crossed Natasha's face when the creature said her father's name, for she never knew who her father was.
Natasha and Clint kept their weapons out while my hands and eyes continued to glow blue as we walked closer to the hooded figure. "Who are you?" I ask.
"Consider me a guide...to you...and to all who seek the Soul Stone." The hooded figure known as the Red Skull says.
"Oh, good. You tell us where it is. Then we'll be on our way." Natasha says.
"Ah, liebchen." Red Skull speaks in German. "If only it were that easy." He leads the three of us to the cliff of the mountain. "What you seek lies in front of you, as does what you fear."
"The stone's down there," Natasha says as she looks over the cliff. I stand in between Natasha and Clint as we approach the edge.
"For one of you. For the other...in order to take the stone...you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul for a soul." Red Skull says.
Later, I paced around while Natasha sat down and Clint was standing nearby. One of us was going to have to sacrifice ourselves for the stone. Obviously, I couldn't let Natasha or Clint do it, and since I can't die, would it even work? I would have to try.
"How's it going?" Clint chuckles, waving to the Red Skull. He walks over to Natasha and me. I stop pacing. "Maybe he's making this up."
"No. I don't think so." Natasha says.
"Why? 'Cause he knows your daddy's name?" Clint asks.
"I didn't," Natasha says. "Thanos left here with the stone...without his daughter. That's not a coincidence."
"Yeah," Clint says, nodding his head.
"Whatever it takes," Natasha whispers as tiny droplets of snow fall on her red hair.
"Whatever it takes," Clint says. I noticed Clint staring at the edge, and Natasha stood up.
"If we don't get that stone, billions of people will stay dead," Natasha says.
"Yeah," Clint says, nodding his head. "Then I guess we both know who it's gotta be."
"I guess we do," Natasha says.
"Wait," I say, walking over to Natasha and Clint. "What if I do it?" Natasha just looks at me, and Clint is shaking his head.
"What? No, Kait." Clint says.
"Guys, you know that I can't die. What if I jumped over the ledge, and you get the stone." I whispered so the Red Skull couldn't hear me.
"That's not an option," Natasha says.
"Besides, you don't know if that will even work. The person will have to stay dead permanently." Clint says.
"But..."
Natasha cuts me off and takes my hand. "I'm sorry, Kat, it has to be one of us. It has to be me."
I shake my head. "No, Nat."
"For the last five years, I've been trying to do one thing. Get to right here. That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back."
"No, don't you get all decent on me now," Clint says.
"What, you think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your life, you idiot." Natasha says.
"Yeah, well, I don't want you to. How's that? Natasha, you know what I've done. You know what I've become." Clint says.
"Oh, I don't judge people on their worst mistakes," Natasha says.
"Maybe you should," Clint says.
"You didn't," Natasha says.
"You're a pain in my ass. You know that?" Clint says. Natasha nods her head, and they rest their foreheads against each other.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I watch this moment between Natasha and Clint. I was about to lose one of them. Two of the people I care about the most. I couldn't let that happen. It was going to be me. Clint and Natasha will get the stone, and they will return back with the others.
"No," I say and start running to the edge. Before I could make it, Natasha grabbed me by the leg and pinned me to the ground.
"Stay down," Natasha warned.
"I have to do this!" I shouted.
"Sorry, kid. I can't let you." Natasha says. She gets up and starts running to the edge. Clint runs up to Natasha, hooks her legs, and knocks her to the ground.
"Tell my family I love 'em," Clint says. Natasha grabbed Clint and tackled him to the ground.
"You tell 'em yourself," Natasha says. She shoots him with one of her electric beads, keeping him still. I watch Natasha as she runs toward the edge. With a wave of my hand, I use my telekinesis to move Natasha away from the edge and start running toward it. Clint gets up and takes out a dart gun. He shoots a needle at my neck, and I start to feel woozy. I looked at him with surprise as I fell backward, away from the edge.
"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn," Clint says as my vision becomes blurry. Unable to move, the last thing I remember, was watching Clint running toward the edge and Natasha going after him. Clint jumps over the edge as Natasha grabs him and hooks him up to a grappling hook. Clint was holding onto Natasha as she was dangling over the edge.
"Let me go," Natasha says.
"No. No. Please, no." Clint says as he holds tightly onto Natasha's hand.
"It's okay." She whispers as tears fall down her cheeks. "When Kaitlyn wakes up, tell her that I love her and that I'm sorry."
"Please..." Natasha kicks the wall, falls off the rope, and plummets to the ground. "No!" Clint cries as Natasha falls to her death, and he sees the pool of blood around her head. When I wake up, I find myself floating in water. I was no longer on the cliff and looked around in confusion. Sitting next to me was Clint. His eyes were red from crying, and looking down at his hand, I saw the Soul Stone.
Realizing what just happened, I looked at Clint.
"She's gone, isn't she?" I ask, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Clint nods his head and hits the water in anger. Our Quantum suits activate, and we shrink back to the present day, soon joined by the others returning from their journeys. As we stand on the Quantum platform of the Avengers Facility, we look around to see all six Infinity Stones we have recovered.
"Did we get 'em all?" Bruce asks.
"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey asks. Clint was silent as he fell to the ground on his knees, and I looked at the spot where Natasha would have stood. Everyone looked at us as they start to realize someone in their group was missing.
"Clint, Kaitlyn, where's Nat?" Bruce asks. Clint and I were silent. We couldn't bring ourselves to tell them what had happened. Will looks at me, sadness in his eyes.
"Kaitlyn?" He says. I look up at Will with glassy eyes. As I looked around at everyone, I slowly started to back away, my breathing became heavy, and I quickly ran out of the facility. The mission was completed but at a dire cost. Sadness overtakes everyone. Bruce falls to the ground and pounds the floor in grief.
Natasha was gone. And she wasn't coming back.
•
•
•
•
Will finds me in my room. He sees me sitting on the floor by my bed with my head resting on my knees. "Kaitlyn?" Will says. When I don't look up, he walks over to my bed and sits with me. He wraps an arm around me, and I rest my head on his lap.
"I'm so sorry. I know how close you and Nat were." Will says.
"She was like a sister to me," I say.
"She was to all of us," Will says.
"I was supposed to do it," I say.
Will looks down at me, confused. "Do what?"
"When we were on Vormir, only one of us had to sacrifice ourselves for the Soul Stone. I was going to do it, but they wouldn't let me." I say. "Natasha wouldn't let me, and now she's dead. It's all my fault."
"It's not your fault, Kaitlyn," Will says, shaking his head.
"Yes, it is," I say. I sit up and look at Will. "How can I keep going if everyone I know and care about keeps dying while I still get to live?"
"Keep fighting. That's what I would do." Will says. "I will keep fighting until I can't anymore."
"That's easy for you to say. At least you're still human and not an immortal hybrid freak." I say.
"You're not a freak," Will says.
"Say what you will about my powers, but this whole not, dying thing, not sure if I'm a fan," I say.
"Your powers are amazing, and so are you," Will says. He rests his forehead against mine.
"I'm going to miss her," I say.
"Me, too."
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