Infinity
Chapter 18
"I'll be back in no time," Steve told Sharon.
Sharon shrugged. "Oh, sure. It's just like a trip to the store for some milk," she said sarcastically.
Steve gave her a look.
"Okay, okay. I have to stay here. And it's still true. Just – try to come back in one piece?" Sharon asked.
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "You know I will."
"All right, enough of that," Tony said walking into the room. He also wasn't going into space.
It wasn't that he didn't want to kick Thanos' purple ass for everything he'd done, but he would better serve the group as ground control with Banner and Sharon. And it would keep him in Pepper's good graces – at least temporarily.
"Are you going to stick to the plan?" Tony asked Steve. "Or at least pretend you will?"
"I will, Tony. You know I will," Steve said. "You'll make sure things stay copacetic here?"
Tony nodded, looked to Sharon, then nodded at Steve again. "We'll make sure things are covered here. You have to get the stones, Rogers."
"I know," Steve nodded.
He surveyed the group of people scattered around him. Some were dressed and ready to go up in space in Rocket's ship and others were just dazed and ready for it all to be over; there wasn't any in between.
"All right, let's get a move on," Steve told the groupl.
"That'll be unnecessary at this point in time," a voice said from the doorway behind them.
It was a woman, blond, around Sharon's height, in a suit that was emblazoned with a single star.
"Why do I even bother with security? I should just put a target on the roof…" Tony muttered. "Gates are just for show."
"Where's Fury?" the woman asked. She seemed both annoyed and concerned.
"That is an excellent question, Captain Danvers," Sharon said as she walked to greet their newest arrival.
Recognition flashed in the woman's eyes. "Sharon Carter," she said as she walked towards her.
The two women shook hands and nodded cordially.
"So Fury's gone, too?" Carol asked.
Steve nodded. "We believe that he's just one of the many that disappeared when Thanos used the Infinity Stones," Steve said as he joined Sharon at her side. "I'm Steve…"
"Rogers," the woman finished for him while she shook Steve's outstretched hand. "I've been in space, Captain Rogers, not dead, or frozen. I'm Carol Danvers. It's nice to finally meet you," she said to him
Steve nodded once. "I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances," he said solemnly.
"I received the signal from Fury's pager," Carol told them.
"As we hoped you would," Tony said. "Tony Stark. And I don't shake hands."
"It's nice to know you grew up unscathed. Mostly," she said.
"Excuse me?"
"I know you from your tabloid escapades, Mr. Stark," Carol said.
"Yeah, well, the 90s weren't always spectacular for me," Tony said flatly. "What did you mean about it not being necessary to go find Thanos? He has the stones. He left with them and we need them," Tony said.
"The stones caused him a great deal of damage when he used them – it actually nearly killed him. He's weak now," Carol explained.
"Oh, boo-hoo," Rocket said from one corner of the room.
"Wouldn't that be all the more reason that we go and take them?" Rhodey said. "Kick his ass and take the gauntlet and then come back and fix everything?"
"That sounds like a good plan to me," Thor said.
"Oh, okay," Carol replied sarcastically.
"I sense you disagree," Natasha said.
"Thanos used the stones to get him to the garden planet. But he sent one back out into the universe."
"How do you know that?" Steve asked.
"I felt the energy surge," Carol replied. "And it came whizzing past my head."
"You didn't happen to see which stone it was, did you?" Sharon asked.
"The Soul Stone," Carol said, turning back towards her.
"So, where do we go to find it?" Clint asked, almost desperately.
"The Soul Stone is on Vormir. But it's not that simple," Nebula answered.
"She is correct," Carol told them.
"Do you all have to speak in riddles all the time?" Rocket asked. "Because it's annoying as…"
"It's a soul for the stone," Nebula said. "Thanos traded my sister's life for the Soul Stone and now that it's been returned to Vormir the same conditions will apply. It's under the watchful eye of a protector and the only way to prove you both want and deserve the stone, you have to make a sacrifice for it."
"I'll go," Clint said.
"I'm going with you," Nat said.
"Hold on, everyone. We need to talk about this," Steve said, walking into the middle of the room. "No one is…"
"We don't have time. My wife and kids are gone because of that purple bastard. I'm telling you – all of you – that I am going to do whatever I have to do – whatever I can do – to get the stones," Clint said to the group.
"It's not a question of if, Steve, it's when," Thor agreed from his seat in the back corner of the room. "But those of us familiar with space should be going. Rocket, Nebula, myself," he said.
"There's the pesky problem of needing a soul still remaining," Rocket muttered. "She's a robot and I'm a raccoon."
"I told you," Clint started. "I'm going. I don't care what needs to be done. I'll do it."
Nat turned to Rocket. "Could you get us to Vormir?"
"Yeah, sweetheart, I can," Rocket replied. "She ain't just there for show."
"I think we have our plan, then, Steve," Natasha said.
Steve looked over to Sharon and Tony. Sharon said nothing and Tony simply shrugged.
"What do you think, Captain Danvers?" Steve asked.
"Without that stone, without all six of them, the gauntlet is still powerful but it won't do what we need it to do," she said.
"I s'pose that's our answer, then," Bruce said.
"We could really use the big green, angry guy right about now," Tony said to Bruce.
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon," Bruce replied.
"Pity," Tony said. "We're going to have to sort that out," he told him.
"Um, okay…" Bruce said.
"Wheels up in ten," Rocket said.
"Good," Clint said.
"Affirmative," Carol nodded.
Ten minutes later, the space team was loaded into Rocket's ship – all five of them – and they were going to get the Soul Stone.
Steve's jaw was set as he watched them take off and Sharon didn't know what to say. They hadn't wanted to say goodbye to Clint, but they knew it was going to be the last time they saw him. That was the deal with the stone.
They watched the ship ascend and all of the remaining crew went back inside – everyone but Tony, Steve, and Sharon.
"I know you think you should be going with them, Cap. But we need you here," Tony said.
Steve was still watching the patch of sky they'd disappeared into, and hoping for a miracle that would bring all of them back.
"Thor and Carol can handle this with Nat and Clint," Sharon said.
"Clint's a wild card right now…" Steve said.
"Barton's always been a wild card," Tony replied.
"Yeah, but now he has nothing to lose. And someone with nothing to lose is capable of…anything. A lot that he could regret, too. I know he would never intentionally do anything to those with him, he's just reckless."
"Tony's right, Steve," Sharon said, taking his hand in hers. "The best shot at getting his family back…"
"And if we're successful, then his family is without him," Steve said. "We don't trade lives," he said. "We've lost so much already. And if they complete that mission, we just saw Clint Barton for the last time. There is no plan except giving up one of us."
He let go of Sharon's hand and walked away, out towards the edge of the property. Sharon moved to follow but Tony stopped her.
"Let him alone for a while," Tony told her.
"This sucks so much," Sharon said. "It's such an oversimplification but it…just sucks. I feel so helpless," she said as she buried her face in Tony's shoulder and starting to cry.
"I know, I know," he said, embracing her. "Everything is totally disrupted and we don't even really know the full extent of everything. But we might be the only people that can put the world back together," Tony said.
"We don't have a clue what we're doing, Tony."
He nodded. "Yep. We're winging it again. But we'll try our damnedest, though," he said. "Just like always."
"That was very inspiring. Thank you."
"I think it's the impending fatherhood," he replied. "I even have some more grey hair now, too."
"I think I have some more, too," Sharon replied. "Just from the last couple of days."
"Come on, let's go inside," Tony said.
…
So, it's been about a year probably since I've updated…so I apologize for that. Hopefully this was okay, though.
Thank you!