The aged wooden slabs creaked beneath Aubrey's combat boots as she leaned heavily against one of the many poles that held up both the dock and awning they were on. The air was stiff with emotion, it zinged between the group, putting everyone on edge. Natasha Romanoff….Black Widow….was dead.
It didn't seem quite possible..that such a great woman had left the earth.
Tony's voice pulled Aubrey from her dark thoughts. "Do we know if she had any family?" he met her eyes from his spot by Cap on a bench.
"Yeah...us" Cap's voice shook and he stared at a knot in the planks.
Thor ambled over and it seemed that with each step, the dock trembled beneath his weight. "What?...what are you doing?" His question was aimed at Tony.
"I asked him a question."
"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead! Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones...Cap, we can bring her back, right? So stop this, we're the Avengers, get it together.-"
"Can't get her back" Barton has his back to everyone but Aubrey could see the grief weighing on his shoulders. They'd heard a short description of what had happened and she knew he was blaming himself.
"What's he? What?" Thor sounded baffled.
"It can't be undone. It can't." Aubrey felt everyone's hearts drop with each word.
But Thor just gave a mighty chuckle "Look, I'm sorry, no offense but you're a very earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic, *can't* seems very definitive, don't you think?"
"Yeah, look, I know I'm way outside my pay grade here but she still isn't here, is she?" The air had stiffened further and she knew a storm was brewing.
"No, that's my point."
"It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and talk to him!-" Barton's voice raised with every word and tears glistened in his eyes "- It was supposed to be me….She sacrificed her life for that stone. She bet her life on it."
Barton was cut off by a growl of frustration from Banner. He picked up one of the benches and chucked it across the lake before murmuring "She's not coming back….We have to make it worth it….We have to."
Cap rose from his spot, a wet trail down his face shone in the morning sunlight.
"We will."
An Ironman glove sat suspended in the air, each of the Infinity Stones nestled firmly on the top. Tony and Rocket made sure it stayed in position as the Raccoon spoke.
"All right, the gloves ready...now the question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"
"I'll do it-" was Thor's immediate response
"Excuse me?" Tony turned, his eyes trailing to Thor.
"- it's okay" he headed straight towards the glove but everyone moved into his path.
"Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who is going to put on the glove yet." Cap put his hand firmly on the god's chest, forcing him to stop.
"I'm sorry. What, we're all just sitting around, waiting for the right opportunity?-"
"We should at least discuss it," Lang mumbled.
Pushing off of the wall, Aubrey moved her way closer to The Avengers, and the glove, an idea forming in her mind as Thor rambled on.
"-Look, sitting here staring at that thing is not going to bring everyone back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls on me.-" Cap started to interrupt and Tony began to speak at the same time. The four lapsed into angry muttering.
"I'll do it"
The room went silent and Tony whirled around at her voice, fury igniting in his eyes.
"Don't you dare Aubrey." His gaze flickered from her to the glove, which stood only a step away.
"Why not? I've got the serum and the Nanos. They would keep me safe, right?"
"We are not having that discussion. No, it won't keep you safe. The Nano's keep you alive and that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent."
"It can't be you.-" Banner cut in, a solemn look on his face as he sidled between Aubrey and the glove. "-It's gotta be me...You saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him. None of you could survive."
She took a step back, noting the desperation in his stare. "How do we know you will?"
"We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma….It's like I was made for this-."
No one said anything against or for Banner, they just watched as he gently lifted the glove up. "-Let's do this"
"Okay..-" Sucking in a breath, Tony broke the silence "- 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."
"Got it"
Aubrey's spine stiffened as her suit activated and the wings crawled out from her body. Tony's Ironman suit crawled onto him as he summoned an energy field. It was big enough to cover both her, Barton, and Tony. Banner eyed the glove a moment longer before starting to put his hand in it. The glove automatically started rearranging to fit his Hulk-sized hand.
"Friday, do me a favor and activate the Barn Door Protocol, will ya?"
"Yes, Boss."
All of the doors shuddered closed and the windows darkened as protective layers slid over them, snapping closed. They were locked in a fortress of metal.
"Everybody comes home," Banner whispered as the rest of the group braced themselves.
This was it.
Either everyone would come home.
Or not.
The moment the glove latched onto his hand, Banner's face contorted, and inhumane noises escaped from his mouth. Strings of energy burst forth from the glove, inching up and down Banner's arm and body. Sinking down to one knee, he growled. The sleeve of his shirt began to disintegrate into fiery ashes.
"Take it off, Take it off!" Thor yelled
Cap shook his head "No, wait, are you okay...Banner?"
"Talk to us Banner" Tony called.
Fire had begun to eat its way up Banner's arm, leaving black crusted skin, but somehow, he was able to utter two words.
"I'm, okay." Panting heavily, he let out another scream as his arm lifted and his fingers moved..and snapped.
Everything flashed, becoming such a brilliant white light, that Aubrey feared she would go blind. It faded after a moment as Banner fell to the ground, the glove falling off to reveal his wounded arm. Tony and Cap rushed forward, Tony spraying something on Banner's arm. The compound began to open up again and Aubrey was distracted by the sound of birds.
Birds chirping and flying outside the window.
Just like they used to.
And the sound of a vibrating cell phone.
Barton stiffened, turning around and slowly heading towards the phone as though he was sure if he touched it, it would disappear.
Aubrey cautiously stood by the window, shock working its way through her. She had felt numb up until this moment.
"Guys….-" her voice felt excruciatingly loud..yet unbearably soft...as if saying them would make it untrue "-I...I think it worked."
And then the world went up in flames.
*A/N* Thank you everyone for the support lately! If you're still enjoying it, I'd love to hear from you guys! And if you're not already, make sure to follow the story for emails every time I update it!