A/N: We're almost to the end. Without further ado, here's Chapter 27!

Chapter 27: "This is My Choice"

Everything seemed to have worked in everyone's favor. Both William and Darren were dead. Their Master Plan has failed and the horde of Yellowjacket soldiers were dealt with.

But something else seemed to not be right as Harley radioed everyone on their coms, "Guys, we have another problem."

Everyone looked at one another and thought, "What is it now?"

For Scott, all he wanted was to get Cassie away from further harm. For Hope, it was to get Scott, Cassie, her mother and father out of Cross' basement and back to the safety and tranquility of her family home. For Ava, it was…well she was still figuring that out.

Scott picked himself and his daughter up from the ground as he helped Cassie walk without standing on her right leg. Ava didn't bother to offer help as she got one of Cassie's arms over her shoulder while Scott the other. Hope picked her mother up and they proceeded to move towards the lab.

Once they got to the lab, Scott and Ava set Cassie down on the foldable stretcher that she was handcuffed to earlier and Janet had quickly recovered to where she didn't need to rely on the comfort of her daughter's shoulder.

After everyone else returned, Hank and Bill filled them in on a new situation.

"The tunnel is unstable." Hank informed everyone.

"How is it unstable?" Hope asked her father.

"We think during your fight, Cross took off, snuck into the lab down there and tampered with the machine? Now it's setting off sparks of energy, pretty soon the pressure is gonna overload and everything within a 6-mile radius will be destroyed." Bill explained what he and Hank had figured out.

After processing everything Hank and Bill said, it was apparent to everyone that something had to be done…or else?

"What can we do?" Scott said.

Bill left his post and began looking around the lab for something. Something that could be important while muttering to himself "I knew I put it here somewhere. But where?"

Everyone, especially Ava, looked concerned at what Bill was doing, until he found what he was looking for.

"FOUND IT!" Bill exclaimed while holding a metal ball the size of a grapefruit. It was actually a grenade.

"What the hell is that?" Hank asked his colleague.

"It's a Quantum Grenade. A failsafe. Basically, it will blow up the Quantum Tunnel before it sets off the blast and contain the realm." Bill explained the mechanics of how it worked.

"Okay, just throw it at the tunnel and problem solved. Right?" Harley asked.

"It's not that simple." Bill continued.

"Well unsimplify." Hank asked.

Bill paused for a moment before finishing. "The grenade can only be activated…from inside the Realm."

Suddenly, it made sense to everyone as to why it wasn't so simple.

"Once it gathers enough energy, it only takes 10 seconds." Bill made it clear that it was a suicide mission. "After that, you're lost forever."

Now that Bill explained what needed to be done, only one question remained: Who was going to do it.

An uneasy silence had enveloped the room. Everyone knew that they couldn't let a very large surge of Quantum Energy destroy a large chunk of land and themselves but they knew someone was going to have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Everyone continued to decide to themselves who would make the ultimate sacrifice…until Ava stepped up.

"I'll do it." Ava broke the tension, while everyone seemed shocked as to why.

"Ava, I know you're only doing this just to punish yourself but it doesn't mean to…" Bill tried convincing Ava until she interrupted.

"I'm not punishing myself. I'm doing what I needs to be done." Ava explained. "This is my choice."

Once Bill realized he was clearly outspoken, Ava gestured Bill to hand her the grenade.

Bill hesitated but eventually gave in.

Ava looked around the room to everyone, who all seemed like she was making a big mistake. Sure, she did some horrible things in the past but in the last 24 hours, Ava went from being a dangerous assassin to a hero and now, it looked as if she felt making the sacrifice was her not realizing that her actions have led to her redemption.

"This is my choice." Ava told everyone. "This was always what it needed to happen."

As Ava left the room and proceeded to make her way towards the lower level lab, Scott, Hope, Hank, Janet and Bill looked down at the lab to watch. They saw the tunnel was already beginning to disintegrate and were already prepping in case Ava needed assistance.

Harley went to Cassie's side. She was still in pain from William's gunshot to her leg and she was already beginning to pass out.

Ava made it to the lab, Quantum Grenade in hand, and made the slow walk towards the tunnel.

The sparks of energy that were shooting off like sparklers sent fear down Ava's spine but she knew she was ready to make the sacrifice.

All that was going through her mind was how much all of it reminded her of what happened to her parents. Tears were flowing through her eyes as she walked up the platform and towards the gateway into the realm.

As Ava walked further and further to the gate, she found herself in the Quantum Realm.

Ava turned on the grenade and the grenade began collecting energy around her until it was full and ready to be set.

Before Ava would press the button that would inevitably seal her fate, she gazed around the realm and realized she had never seen the Quantum Realm in all its beauty. She nodded to herself as to how beautiful it was and was grateful she had gotten to see it for herself.

After a moment, Ava pressed the button and the 10 second countdown had begun.

In those final 10 seconds, Ava had finally become that person her parents wanted her to be. She had finally found her soul again. She wasn't Ghost anymore. She was Ava Starr again.

A white light had developed around Ava and outside the Quantum Realm, the tunnel had begun crumpling itself into a ball and ceased itself into the white light that suddenly went dark.

The Tunnel had been destroyed (or vanished). The Realm was contained. Ava did what needed to be done. Now all everyone could do was mourn.

Ava made the ultimate sacrifice and what will our heroes take from this? What's going to happen now? Stay Tuned for Chapter 28!