She was the first one who trusted me.
She never doubted me, not once. She knew exactly what to do in every single situation. She was so brave, kind, focused, smart, and loyal. I thought nothing could stop her. Even now, I was still holding onto the hope that she was still here.
But Natasha Romanoff was dead, as she wasn't coming back.
I don't even remember how I reacted when I found out. When my anger subsided there was evidence of my blasts all over. I ended up in some abandoned area of the compound.
Once the anger was gone, grief took over. I cried until there were no more tears left in me.
Nat was like the older sister I never had. Throughout all my successes and failures, throughout my struggles, she was always there.
And then, suddenly she wasn't.
I wiped the tears from my eyes and straightened up. We had the Stones. We could bring everyone back.
She sacrificed herself for this. It was time to make it mean something.
…
We all stood around the glove, with the Infinity Stones in place.
"Alright." Rocket said. "The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers."
"I'll do it!" Thor said, moving towards the glove. We all protested and pushed him back.
"Wait wait, Thor, just wait." Steve said hurriedly. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."
"I'm sorry. What we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked.
"We should at least discuss it." Scott insisted.
"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back." Thor said. "I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So the responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."
"It's not about that-" Tony explained, but Thor shushed him.
"It's not that- Stop it!" He said. "Just let me do it. Just let me do something good, something right."
"Look, it's not just the fact that the glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you, you're in no condition."
"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked.
"Cheez Whiz?" I muttered. Thor glared at me.
"Lightning." He said.
"Lightning won't yelp you, pal." Bruce said. "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 you will?" Steve asked.
"We don't." Bruce replied. "But the radiation is mostly gamma. It's like… I was made for this." He picked up the glove.
"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked.
"Let's do it." Bruce said.
"Remember everyone Thanos snapped away five years a go and just bringing them back to now, today." Tony said. "Don't change anything from the last five years."
"Got it." Bruce said.
We all protected ourselves, just in case. Tony, Rhodey, and Scott had their suits, Steve had his shield, and Clint was behind one of Tony's nano-shields. I hovered a few blasts in front of me, effectively creating an energy shield.
"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol." Tony said. Immediately, the compound went on complete lockdown in case something went wrong.
"Everybody comes home." Bruce muttered. The glove expanded to fit his hand, and he put it on.
Immediately, a huge power surge flowed over him, and he yelled in pain.
"Take it off!" Thor shouted. "Take it off!"
"No, wait!" Steve said. "Bruce, are you okay?"
"Talk to me, Banner." Tony said.
"I'm okay." Bruce gasped. "I'm okay." He yelled, fighting through the pain…
He brought his fingers together and snapped his fingers.
He fainted and collapsed to the floor. The glove slid off his hand, and Clint kicked it away. We surrounded Bruce, and the was slowly regaining consciousness.
"Don't move him." Tony said, spraying something on Bruce's wounded arm.
"Did it work?" Steve asked.
Did it? Did we bring them back.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over us. I looked up to the the Sanctuary II, Thanos's ship bearing over us. A single missal came flying at us, with many more following.
The missiles hit the base, and everything was flung into chaos. Sections of the ground sank, plunging people underground. I blasted away falling debris, all the while trying desperately to get out of there.
A piece of flying rubble hit me squarely in the chest, and I went flying back. As I was trying to get back up, the ground I was standing on crumbled, and I fell into the abyss below.
I flailed my hands, desperately trying to grab onto something and stop my fall. My left hand curled around smooth, round metal.
I looked up and saw that I had grabbed a pipe. The ground where I had been standing was at least ten feet up.
I tried to climb up the pipe, but it was too slippery for me to climb. I scanned the area telepathically, but I couldn't sense anyone nearby.
Then I made the mistake of looking down.
I couldn't even see the ground, just a thick silver mist. I was certain that if I fell, I would die.
"Help!" I yelled. "Somebody help!" It was no use. Nobody was coming. I just hoped that everyone was still alive.
I took a deep breath. There had to be a way out of this.
The Ancient One's words filled my head: Once you let go, you will discover the true power inside of you. I nearly laughed. She meant that literally.
I closed my eyes and let go of the pipe.
I free fell through the air, tumbling, shrouded by the mist. Fear shot through me. What if I was wrong? What if nothing would happen.
Just when I thought I was about to die, I felt an odd sensation. Opening my eyes, I saw a purple aura around me. I looked down and saw the ground a few feet away.
I was flying.
I shot up, my light following. My blasts felt more powerful than ever, their destructive capabilities heightened.
I burst into the sky, and saw the sight that awaited me.
On one side, there was Thanos and his army of Outriders, Chitauri, and Sakaarans. But that wasn't what interested me.
On the other side, there were thousands of portals open. Heroes poured out of them. Avengers, Guardians, Wakandans, Asgardians, sorcerers, and more.
The best part was, the people who had been snapped were here.
Wanda hovered a few inches off the ground, her powers blazing. She was alive, they were all alive.
I turned my gaze towards the front of the army, where Steve was holding Mjolnir like it weighed nothing. He had been worthy the whole time.
I heard a rumble, and Scott (grown to a huge size) emerged, carrying Bruce, Rhodey and Rocket. I soared over to our side, landing on the front line.
"Avengers!" Steve shouted. "Assemble."
I grinned as we charged into battle. This was our second chance, and we were not going to screw it up.