My teeth nibble at my lip as Bruce, Rocket, Tony and I work together to create a gauntlet sustainable enough to hold all six of the infinity stone. Tony uses one of the gloves from his spare suit, modifying it to become stronger. It takes a day, but we all soon achieve it. Which means this is the moment we have all waited for.
We are all gathered in the lab, all pairs of eyes locked in the glove that sits on its stand. My heart pounds in my chest, us being so incredibly close to pulling this off. Rocket looks between us all, "Okay, the glove is ready. Question is whose gonna snap their fingers?"
Everyone remains quiet, a nervousness coming through the room. I clear my throat and step forward, "I'll do it."
"No. Not happening." Tony says instantly and Steve shakes his head, "No Lexi."
"It'll kill you." Clint states, a protectiveness in his voice.
"On Titan, I touched the gauntlet when it had four of the stones, I've felt it's power and it didn't kill me." I argue, but Tony cuts me off, "That was different. This is all six, and you guys saw how it destroyed Thanos. I can't risk you dying for this."
"You can't, but I can. I want to be the one to do it." I argue, straightening up.
"I'll do it. It's okay." Thor says, placing a hand on my shoulder before walking forward. Steve shakes his head as he takes in a wobbly Thor, "No."
We all hold our hands out to stop him, Steve speaking up, "Thor, just wait. We haven't decided whose gonna out that on yet."
"I'm sorry, we're all just sitting around, waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asks incredulously, looking at us all with wild eyes.
"We should at least discuss it." Scott argues, but Thor doesn't have a bar of it, "Look, us all sitting here staring at the thing is not gonna bring anybody back. I am the strongest avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls on me."
Tony walks forward as Thor gets choked up, "It's my duty."
Tony tries to stop him, but Thor growls and knocks his hand away, "Just stop it! Just let me!"
His fingertips grasp at Tony's shirt and as he whispers with tears in his eyes, "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right."
"Buddy, 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." Tony states kindly, but Thor chuckles, "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?"
"Cheese Whiz." Rhodes mutters, causing Thor to frown and point at him before turning back to Tony, "Lightening."
"Yeah." Tony murmurs, but it's Bruce's voice that fills the room, "Lightening won't help you pal."
He walks over to glove, looking at it with heavy eyes, "It's gotta be me. You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive."
"How do we know that you will?" I question and he gives me a weak smile, "We don't. But the radiation is mostly gamma. It's like uh... I was made for this."
He picks it up and Tony looks at him, "You're good to go?"
"Let's do it." Bruce whispers.
Tony nods before we all step back. I press the button on my chest and my suit appears. Tony and Clint stand on either side of me. Tony looks to his friend, "Okay, Remember. Everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you're just bringing them back to now. Today. Don't change anything from the last five years."
Bruce nods his head, "Got it."
Everyone cowers back and Tony flicks up a shield, holding it in front of our trio before he speaks, "Friday, do me a favour and activate Iron Door Protocol would you?"
"Yes, Boss." She replies.
All the windows are sealed by metal sheets that are incredibly thick, all the doors encasing the stones and us in to protect damage from the outside world.
Bruce looks down at the glove, running his large fingers over it, "Everybody comes home."
He takes in a deep breath before puts it on, us all wait anxiously. The power overcomes him, running up his arms and sparking, making loud noises that cause me to jump. Bruce cries out in pain, falling to his knees.
"Take it off. Take it off!" Thor yells out, but Steve holds up a hand, "No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?"
Clint pushes me behind him, his hand holding onto my arm as Tony calls out, "Talk to me, Banner."
Bruce screams out and grunts before flaming slightly, "I'm okay. I'm okay."
He straightens up slowly, the power still burning his skin as he raises his hands. He screams out and I stare on in shock, holding onto the back of Clint's shirt as I watch on in fear. Bruce's hand is raised and I watch with bated breath as he draws his fingers together and snaps them.
The glowing lights of the stones disappear and he collapses to the ground, his body burnt like up much like Thanos' was when we went to find him at the garden. Instinctively I rush forward to his side, "Bruce!"
The others all follow my lead, crowding around him. Bruce groans and goes to move, but I hold my hand up, "Don't move."
Using my glove, I use the nanotech over his arm like I did with Tony on Titan. Bruce grabs onto Thor's arm for support and looks up at him hopefully, "Did it work?"
"They're opening the doors, we'll make sure it's okay." He says reassuringly, holding his friends hand.
Bruce grunts in pain, and I turn my head to see Clint picking his phone that's buzzing, his face conveying shock as I see tears well in the corners of his eyes. He lifts the phone to his ear and whispers, "Honey."
I let out a breath of relief and turn to Bruce, cradling his cheek, "You did it."
Bruce chuckles weakly, when I see a shadow appear over his face. I frown and turn to looks up through the skylight, seeing something hurtle it's way towards us.
"Look out!" I scream, when an explosion fills the compound. I soar through the air before being thrown into something, making me lose my thoughts and causing everything to go black.
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"Lexi?"
I awake with a start at the feeling of someone shaking my shoulder and I let out a gasp, looking around wildly. Tony kneels above her and grabs me, "It's okay, you're okay, are you all right? Are you hurt?"
I breathe out and close my eyes, shaking my head, "I'm fine. What the hell was that?"
"I don't know. Let's go find out." Tony says, offering my a hand.
I take it and he helps me to my feet, giving me s chance to take in my surroundings. We are inside, but I'm not sure where due to the destruction. Pipes are exposed, water leaking everywhere with dust in the air. Nothing looks distinguishable, everything completely destroyed by the blast.
Stumbling along holding onto his arm, we make our way through the wreckage in search of the others. Movement comes from up ahead and we stop, seeing the familiar long hair of Thor. Relief comes over me as I see him stand up, looking unharmed from the blast.
He turns to us, "Stark, Lexi. Are you all right?"
"So far." I call out before frowning, "Where are the others?"
"I don't know." He admits and Tony speaks up, "All right. Let's go see what we are dealing with."
We walk towards the light at the end and see the crater that was Avengers HQ. This land is completely destroyed and the culprit floats up in the sky as a giant space ship. A beam of light comes down and I see the one person I never thought I would see again. The person I watched die. But now he is alive and well in front of me. Thanos.
"Find the others, Stark." Thor instructs, his voice deep and rumbling as he stares on his anger.
Tony taps on my and I follow after him, foraging our way through the rubble surrounding us. I see a familiar disk on the ground and tint kneels down, picking it up. We search around and I see a pair of legs poking out and I rush forward, seeing the familiar navy blue uniform. Reaching his side, I kneel down and shake him awake, "Cap!"
He gasps and sits up and I place a hand in his shoulder, "Come on, we gotta go."
Tony holds out his shield to him, "You lose this again, I'm keeping it."
"What happened?" Cap breaths and Tony sighs, "You mess with time, it tends to mess back. You'll see."
We lead him back to where Thor stands, looking down in the crater with his eyes locked on Thanos. He sits in a rock, his double edge sword sticking up from the ground with his armour on it.
"What's has he been doing?" Tony asks, and Thor shakes his head "Absolutely nothing."
"Where are the stones?" Cap asks and I shrug my shoulder, "Somewhere under all this. All I know is he doesn't have them."
"So we keep it that way." Steve says, straightening up and tightening his shield on his arm.
"You know it's a trap, right?" Thor states and Tony shakes his head, "Yeah. I don't much care."
"Good. Just as long as we are all in agreement." Thor says, turning his attention back to Thanos.
Thunder cracks and he holds out his arms, lightening striking down on him. When the bright light disappear, he has on armour and his hair and beard are braided. He holds his hammer and his axe, "Let's kill him properly this time."
Tony looks at me in concern, "Maybe you should go and find the others."
I shake my head, my eyes locked on the murderer down below with complete hatred, "I'm not running away, Tony. I'm not the scared girl who you brought in as your intern anymore. And I can't walk away from this fight, not after everything he has taken from us. I have to do this."
They all watch me and I give them a smirk, "Besides, you all know I'm the strongest."
Steve smiles at me and Tony nods, Thor chuckling. I reach my hand out to him, "Mind giving me a boost, God of thunder?"
"With pleasure." He states, reaching over and placing his hand in mine.
My fingertips wrap around his hand and I close my eyes, feeling electricity pouring through me. I feel myself come alive and I open my eyes, lightening cracking in the sky. My eyes remain locked on Thanos and I know he will not leave this place alive.
All four of us make our way down the hillside, approaching him. Thanos sits on a rock, looking at them with disinterest, "You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me."
He shakes his head, looking around, "I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me, it's impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those who are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."
"Yeah, we're all kinds of stubborn." Tony murmurs, is surrounding him.
Thanos rests his elbows on his knees, "I'm thankful. Because now I know what I must do."
He rises to his feet and grabs his helmet and slips it on, "I will shred this universe down to it's last atom. And then with the stones you've collected for me. Create a new one. Teaming with life."
He picks up his big double ended sword and looks between us all, "That knows not what not has been lost, but only what it has been given."
Thor ignites his hammer and axe with lightening Thanos smirks, "A greatful universe."
"Born out of blood." Steve argues and Thanos shrugs, "They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them."
Thor screams and charges for him, Tony flying up into the air with Steve charging in close behind. I gather up my strength and create a bolt of lightening and strike it down on Thanos, causing him to cry out in pain. Tony blasts him as Steve lands a punch, Thor kicking him in the leg. Thanos fights them off easily, throwing them away.
I charge at the Titan and jump up, using the power form the Demi god to land a decent punch. Thanos groans and I land on his shoulders, using my legs and body weight to flip him over on the ground. During my five years, I took secret lessons with Nat to learn combat. And I know if she was here, she would be proud of me.
As I go to hit him, Thanos grabs a hold of me and throws me away. I skidding along the ground but land in a crouch, anger radiating through me. Tony lands in front of me, his armour spreading into a giant blaster. He calls out to me, "Lexi, hit me."
I gather the lightening from the sky and and throw it to Tony, who boosts his blast onto Thanos. He was impossible to defeat on Titan with the stones, and he is still putting up a huge fight now without them.
Thanos walks forward and Thor tosses his hammer up, hitting it at the Titan with the axe. Thanos grabs onto Tony, using him as a shield and he is hit with the hammer. Steve runs forward and Tony is thrown into, his knocking him away. It's between Thor and I.
He goes forward and attacks, while I hit him with multiple lightening strikes. Thanos gets the upper hand on his, causing me to run forward and fight him. I slide down and blast under his knee, causing him to stumble. Jumping up, I punch his face, once, twice, three times. Thanos tried to grab me, but I'm faster.
I combine the power of the lightening and my booster and shoot him in the chest. He rolls across the ground and I fly over, punching him again. However this time he is quicker and he punches me back, grabbing me around the waist. He tosses me through the air and I go crashing into some of the rubble.
Coughing and spluttering, I push myself into a sitting position. Looking over, I see Thor is about to be stabbed with the axe Thanos pushes into his chest. I go to move, when the hammer is tossed towards Thanos, knocking him away. My head whips to the side and I see Steve wield it back to him.
Thanos kicks Thor away and Steve runs in, fighting him with the combined power and the hammer and lightening. I smile and run forward, gathering more lightening and pushing it into Thanos, which gives Steve the upper hand. The evil creature fights him off, but it's a little harder now.
His eyes land on me and he grabs some copper piping, throwing it and it spears itself through my thigh. I scream out in agony and stumble, looking down and seeing the pipe in my leg. I grit my teeth and pull it out, screaming through the process. Tossing it aside, I use my glove and heal the wound with my nanotech.
I gasp and I look up in time to see Cap's shield broken as he lays in the ground, Thanos going to kill him. I fly forward and jump on his back, gathering my power to run lightening through his veins. He screams out in pain but reaches up and grabs me, throwing me away. I land with a thud on the ground and grunt at the impact.
"In all my years of conquest, violence. Slaughter. It was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your, stubborn, annoying little planet, I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much." Thanos states.
Beams appear around us and armies upon armies arrive, ships landing on the ground with alien creatures scurrying out. I can't help but stare on in shock, knowing that with this much power he could take our everything without the stones.
My eyes drift to the side as Cap pushes himself to his feet, tightening his shield and standing tall, ready to take on the army on his own. He walks towards Thanos, weak but proud. He can't do this alone, he will die. And I can't help but think back to New York, when he saved my life. The least I can do is to try and return the favour.
I push myself up and walk forward with a hobble, my body aching from the pain. I come to a stop by his side and he turns, smiling weakly down at me. We both turn and straighten up, Thanos smirking between the two of us.
"Cap, can you hear me?" A voice filters in through our intercom and I frown, it being very familiar but I can't quite place it. We pause and I press my hand to my ear, the voice talking again, "Cap, it's Sam. On your left."
I turn around and see a portal like the one Strange created on Titan, three people walking out. I still at the sight of an old face, someone who died. He removes his mask and T'Challa looks at us with a smile. Sam flies in, the falcon from Berlin. Soon hundreds of portals open up, thousands of people coming through.
My heart skips a beat and I look around desperately for Peter, but I can't see him. The Wakandan warriors cry out a war cries, them ready for the battle before us. A figure flies in and Pepper appears beside me, dressed in the suit Tony made for her. She turns and smiles at me and I reach over, squeezing her hand.
Then crumbling happens and I turn, seeing Scott become giant like he did in Berlin. He places down Bruce, Rhodes and Rocket next to me. Our soldiers cry out as Tony flies down beside me and Pepper. I straighten up as Thor comes to a stop beside me, the both of us drawing on lightening.
Steve holds his hand out and cries out, "Avengers!"
The hammer flies into his hand and he calls out, "Assemble."