Steve's heart leaped into his throat as he heard his friend behind him.
Then, all of a sudden, a miracle happened.
The Hulk charged Thanos, his roar lifting everyone's spirits...literally.
Stephen appeared to the living visible eyes, ready for the moment. The moment he had seen within those 14,000,605 possibilities. This was it...
Thanos growled back as he tried to use the Stones to defeat this monster, but Bruce had somehow managed to give strategy to the huge fight. Thor joined his friend in helping to pin Thanos down.
Tony crawled backwards, still in shock as to literally coming back to life. He jerked away from a strong touch, then turned to see Steve pulling him away from the scene unfolding before them.
"You're ok, Tony. I've got you..." Steve ran them both into the bushes, then stared at Tony's chest. He looked up as if asking for permission, then timidly put his hand on Tony's scarred chest.
Tony shivered from the gentle touch. "Steve..." He teared up. "I'm so sorry I scared you...and I wasn't there for you...and-"
"Honey, honey. Listen to me. Now is not the best time, ok? And besides, I'm the one that needs to apologize."
"This isn't a contest, boys." Natasha smirked from up in the tree right next to them.
"You're just jealous I stole the hottest one." Tony said.
"I'm not into fossils." She winked at Steve, who blushed. He shook his head. "Thanks for making me feel better, but we need to focus."
"I'm doing my job, Captain...protecting you two."
"And you're doing a marvelous job." Tony really did feel better about it, since of course, coming back to life meant losing his suit on the other side. Oops. Maybe someone can hand it to me?
Strange?
Not now, Tony.
Can I have my suit back?
Not. Now.
Strange's breath hitched as the Hulk managed to pin Thanos to the ground, Carol helping him by stretching out the Mad Titan's hand.
"NOOOOOO!"
Thanos cried out as Thor swung Stormbreaker across the thick arm where the gauntlet was attached. Rhodey and Clint immediately started pulling, as the cut did not go cleanly through.
"Cap! Can you give us a hand here?!" Clint yelled into the bushes.
Steve nodded to Natasha, who assured him Tony would be fine, and raced off to help them. Positioning himself in between the two men, Steve pulled with all of his strength, his feet digging into the ground, when finally they all fell backwards, and the gauntlet went flying.
Thanos grunted, as some unknown strength inside him thew everyone off of him, and he ran, his one remaining arm reaching for the Stones.
It happened in slow motion, and asking what everyone was doing in that moment is hard to explain. The only clear thing that Stephen Strange had seen on Titan and knew had to happen was the Hulk jumping towards a cliff overlooking this valley they had been in...landing with the gauntlet in its grip.
Hulk, listen to me. We gotta do this now! There is no time to waste! We have to help our friends, everyone RIGHT NOW.
Banner's pleas were heard, grateful that their communication was finally better when it really counted.
The Hulk grunted an affirmative, then yanked the purple dismembered hand out. He threw it to the ground and slid the most powerful weapon in the universe on.
Nobody had ever heard a roar of pain come out of the Incredible Hulk like they just did. Power. Space. Time. Soul. Reality. Mind. Everything was there...everything was felt.
Even Bruce screamed in the back of Hulk's mind, still feeling a mere fraction of what was going on center stage.
Come on Buddy. Focus! We need to bring everyone back safely. Everyone. Back. Sa-
The cries from the other Avengers and Thanos could not be heard as the creature snapped his fingers, then fell face-first off the cliff, back down to the group.
"Hulk!?" Thor reached down, flipping his friend over. The green chest rose and fell rapidly. Carol swore she could hear the hastened heartbeat from where she was standing.
"Look out!" Peter Stark-Rogers raced past them to catch a tree from crushing Rhodey.
"Kid?! Where did you come from?"
"Hey, Uncle Rhodey! It worked!" The boy hugged the man, Rhodey still trying to imagine if the last two minutes were even real or not.
"Peter?" He whipped his head around to see Tony, his father smiling at him.
"Dad!" Crashing into him, Tony barely managed to stay standing, but thankfully Natasha was there to help with the impact. "We did it! It worked! We're all back!"
Tony saw, that indeed, they were. The Guardians they had met on Titan were there, Wanda, Sam, Bucky...
I really need to not screw up again.
"Steve?" Bucky and Steve made eye contact and hugged, laughing and crying, so happy to see each other again. "What the hell, man?"
"Language." Steve laughed.
Bucky did a double take. "What did you just say?"
"It's a thing, you'll never get used to it." Tony had his arm wrapped around his son, who was alive and his heart was beating and so was his.
"Hey, kid." Steve greeted Peter, who was shocked to get a hug from the boy who had literally just met him once fighting in Germany, and then briefly before...it happened.
Thanos did not like what he saw one bit. This was not supposed to happen. Now the universe was in peril again.
He moaned in pain and frustration, grabbing the attention of every single living person.
"The universe needed correction." He spat. "And you have doomed us all."
"Us?" Tony stalked forward. "There is no us. You're finished."
Thanos shook his head, chuckling. "I am...inevitable."
Thunder clapped, drawing his attention to Thor, and if looks could kill.
"You..." The god was shaking with rage. "You slaughtered my people...attacked Earth and countless others..." He swiped Stormbreaker to Thanos' leg, bringing him down on one knee to eye level. "And you murdered my brother..." He shoved Thanos by pushing his gaping hole in his arm. "And I am Thor, Son of Odin..."
Thanos' head rolled off into the mud.
It was finished.
No one cheered. No one snarked off.
They all seemed to let out a breath they all realized they were holding. Some cried tears of joy, of relief.
The nightmare was finally over.
"Let's go home..." Steve said.